Overture Magazine - 2015-2016 Season November-December 2015

program notes { Marin Alsop For Marin Alsop’s bio., please see pg. 7. Jonathan Carney For Jonathan Carney’s bio., please see pg. 14. Off the Cuff: A Season of Vivaldi Music Center At Strathmore Friday, November 6, 2015 — 8:15 p.m. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Saturday, November 7, 2015 — 7p.m. Marin Alsop, Conductor Jonathan Carney, Violin Antonio Vivaldi Spring (La Primavera) from The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagioni), opus 8, no. 1 Giont’ è la Primavera: Allegro Il Capraro che dorme: Largo Danza pastorale: Allegro JONATHAN CARNEY Antonio Vivaldi Summer (L’estate) from The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagioni), opus 8, no. 2 Languidezza per il caldo: Allegro non molto Toglie alle membra lasse il suo riposo: Adagio Tempo impetuoso d’estate: Presto JONATHAN CARNEY Antonio Vivaldi Autumn (L’autunno) from The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagioni), opus 8, no. 3 Ballo e canto di villanelli: Allegro Dormienti ubriachi: Adagio molto La caccia: Allegro JONATHAN CARNEY Antonio Vivaldi Winter (L’inverno) from The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagioni), opus 8, no. 4 Aggiaciatto tremar tra nevi algenti: Allegro non molto Passar al foco i di quieti: Largo Camminar sopra il ghiaccio: Allegro JONATHAN CARNEY Music Center At Strathmore The concert will end at approximately 9:30 p.m. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall The concert will end at approximately 8:15 p.m. ABOUT THE CONCERT: “Autumn” and “Winter” from THE FOUR SEASONS Antonio Vivaldi In the “Off the Cuff” concert, we will hear a performance of all four concertos of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. For general background on the work and a description of “Spring” and “Summer,” please see the note on the opposite page. The bountiful harvests of “Autumn” (in the traditional hunting-horn key of F major) are celebrated by a sober peasantdance orchestral ritornello in the first movement. But the soloist has drunk far too much, and his inebriated antics provide delightful virtuoso opportunities. Vivaldi wrote in the slow movement’s score that this is the sleep of the drunken revelers (the harpsichord taking the foreground over muted strings). The most fascinating movement is the last: a detailed scenario of an autumn hunt with the horses’ stately prancing, the baying dogs, rattling gunfire, and the soloist as the fleeing stag, who dies just before the final ritornello. In F minor, “Winter” is another menacing season. Vivaldi may be recalling here the terrible winter of 1708–9 when Venice’s lagoon froze over. In a dramatic opening, the chattering instruments enter one by one, piling up harsh dissonances to evoke the bitter cold. By contrast, the slow movement in warm E-flat major conjures up the cozy atmosphere indoors by the fire, with the pattering raindrops outside imitated by plucked violins. The final Allegro describes people attempting to walk slowly on the ice, then more quickly with frequent falls. As the string winds blow, the music reminds us that winter also brings pleasure as well as discomfort. Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright ©2015 NOVEMBER– DECEMBER 2015 | O v ertur e 19

Overture Magazine - 2015-2016 Season November-December 2015 | Page 21