The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni in the original Italian) is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of classical music.
The concertos were first published in 1725 as part of a set of twelve, Vivaldi's Op. 8, entitled Il Cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ("The Contest of Harmony and Invention"). The first four concertos were designated Le quattro stagioni, each being named after a season. Each one is in three movements, with a slow movement between two faster ones.
- Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La primavera" (Spring)
- Allegro
- Largo
- Allegro
- Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, "L'estate" (Summer)
- Allegro non molto — Allegro
- Adagio — Presto — Adagio
- Presto
- Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293, "L'autunno" (Autumn)
- Allegro
- Adagio molto
- Allegro
- Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "L'inverno" (Winter)
- Allegro non molto
- Largo
- Allegro
The texture of each concerto is varied, resembling its respective season. For example, "Winter" is dark and sombre, whereas "Summer" invokes a thunderstorm in its final movement. |