Zürich Chamber Orchestra Presents VIVALDI'S THE FOUR SEASONS — THEN AND NOW

Classic and contemporary will meet in concert Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m., in the Virginia G. Piper Theater at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. That's when the Zürich Chamber Orchestra performs Vivaldi's famous cycle of violin concertos, The Four Seasons, along with a recent take on that famous score, Vivaldi Recomposed, a rewrite of The Four Seasons by German-born British composer Max Richter (1966 - ). Zürich Chamber Orchestra music director Daniel Hope will serve as violin soloist for both pieces.

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, first published in 1725, is one of classical music's most beloved and widely performed and recorded works. It captures the feelings and events of each season in four separate-but-connected concertos for violin and orchestra: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Spring evokes singing birds and flowing streams; Summer conveys oppressive heat and a sudden hailstorm; Autumn brings dancing music to celebrate the harvest; and Winter depicts icy weather and a warm fireplace. Vivaldi, today regarded as one of his era's greatest composers, spent most of his life instructing music at a school for abandoned girls.

Vivaldi Recomposed, written in 2012, is composer Richter's way of bringing the music into the 21st century, with postmodern elements substituting for the original's baroque features. Richter says writing the piece was "about reclaiming this music for me personally, by getting inside it and rediscovering it for myself." A review of Vivaldi Recomposed at AllMusic.com described it as "speaking to a generation familiar with remixes, sampling and sound collages." A brief work by Swiss composer Fabian Müller, "Winter," is also on the program.

The Zürich Chamber Orchestra, based in the Swiss city of its name, was founded in 1945 by conductor Edmond de Stoutz. A series of conductors have since served as the group's music director, including Sir Roger Norrington, who relinquished the post in 2016 to Hope.

Over the decades, the Zürich Chamber Orchestra has made a name for itself both in its homeland and on tour throughout the world. The orchestra has recorded for numerous labels, including Omega, Novalis, Claves, Teldec, CPO and Sony.

South African-born, London-raised Hope, 44, enjoys a distinguished career as both violinist and conductor. He was the last violinist for the famed Beaux Arts Trio from 2002 to 2008, and is currently a professor of violin at London's Royal Academy of Music. He plays a Guarneri instrument, and records as soloist for the famed German label, Deutsche Grammophon.

Program

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Müller: "Winter"

Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed

Tickets:
$79 (M $71) / $59 / $39
Patrons 29 and under, 50 percent off.

Signature Sponsor: Alexis Megeat

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