“L’inverno” (“Winter”) from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

“L’inverno” (“Winter”) by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) Daniel Lee, Baroque violin Early Music Missouri Chamber Orchestra Philip Barnes, reader Audio courtesy Barry Hufker Videography by Pat Weaver Early Music Missouri concluded its 2024-2025 season with a concert of string music by Antonio Vivaldi including his Four Seasons, performed by the Early Music Missouri Chamber Orchestra with soloist Daniel Lee (Baroque violin). While many modern listeners consider Vivaldi the inventor of this sort of representational program music, in fact from the early years of the 17th century, musicians depicted the natural world, animals, miraculous events and individual people. This included evocations of birds (cuckoos, nightingales and doves were favorites, but chickens and rooster made the cut, too), warring armies, braying donkeys, fatuous nobles, coquettish young girls and more. Vivaldi, a consummate showman who clearly liked to control things, built on this tradition, expanding and reinforcing it with his poetic narratives. The last of the four seasons, Winter, opens starkly with a depiction of biting winter winds and chattering teeth. The tranquil middle movement reflects the comfort of those fortunate to be inside with a cozy fire while the concerto closes with a slippery walk on the ice and an acknowledgement that even a bitter winter brings its own pleasures. Visit earlymusicmissouri.net for more information and to subscribe to our newsletter.