Early Music Vancouver to Present FOUR SEASONS, 5/1

Early Music Vancouver (EMV) prepares for a dramatic conclusion to their 2014/15 season, as part of the popular Chan Centre Series, with a vivid presentation of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, May 1, 2015 at 8pm at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC. Joined by the Portland Baroque Orchestra (PBO) and featuring artistic director and violin virtuoso Monica Huggett, this presentation will mark EMV's first full performance of Vivaldi's best-known and most-adored composition in the esteemed company's 45-year history.

"Vivaldi's Four Seasons is one of the most popular classical works of all time - and with good reason. It is deeply evocative music that has allowed for countless interpretations over the years. Musicians with extremely different styles and views on performance practice have made the piece their own," explains Mathew White, Artistic Director of EMV. "Monica Huggett's irrepressible energy, the vibrant sounds of period instruments, and the rhythmic freedom of the players involved with this performance will offer a paradoxically new and revelatory perspective on the piece to those accustomed to hearing it performed by modern symphonic orchestras and soloists."

In a departure from contemporary symphonic practice, this presentation of the Four Seasons will not use a conductor. Instead, in accordance with 18th century convention, Huggett will lead from the violin.

One of the most important baroque violinists in the world today, Huggett is celebrated by both audiences and critics for her dramatic and expressive approach to the violin. Playing professionally since she was 17-years old, she has led almost all of the world's top baroque ensembles in performance, and been celebrated with the most respected industry awards. Among them, Gramophone magazine's prestigious Best Instrumental Recording Award, and a GRAMMY Award nomination for her recording of J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suites. In addition to her busy solo career and work with PBO, Huggett is currently Artist in Residence at The Juilliard School's Historical Performance program in New York City and Artistic Director of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Ireland's only period instrument ensemble.

Composed around 1720 and published in 1725 as part of a set of twelve concerti, the Four Seasons features four concertos, each with a distinct texture resembling its respective season. Today, it's regarded as Vivaldi's best-known composition, and one of the most popular works in the Baroque music repertoire.

Also on the program are Vivaldi's Sinfonia alla Rustica (RV 156), Locatelli's Lamento in F Minor, and the haunting curtain tune of Matthew Locke's music from The Tempest.