Renaud Capucon - Vivaldi: Four Seasons

Violinist Renaud Capuçon plays Vivaldi with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne

"While avoiding the more gimmicky extremes (in The Four Seasons), there is no lack of character as soloist or conductor from Renaud Capuçon...These galant style pieces (by Chevalier de Saint-Georges) are just as virtuosic as the Italian's, but emphasising elegant joie-de-vivre more than drama. Capuçon is a wonderful advocate, clearly relishing their challenges." — 4/5 Stars, BBC Music Magazine, December 2022

Renaud Capuçon recognizes Vivaldi's Four Seasons as "a highlight of the violin repertoire," but it has taken him some time to add it to his discography.

"For years, I refused to play it," he explains. "I'd heard it too much in the corridors of the Métro in Paris and as holding music on the phone. But once I'd accepted to play it, I was blown away by the power of the music... I realized that it's famous because it's amazing! It's a masterpiece. I've now played it frequently with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and it feels fresh and new every time."

Capuçon has chosen to complement Vivaldi's four concertos with two sparkling concertos composed in Paris some 40 years after Vivaldi's death. They are by Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799), born in Guadeloupe of French and African descent, who became a prominent and influential figure in Paris. He has been described in the New York Times as a composer who holds a "truly unique place in Western classical music history."

 

 

Musicians:
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Orchestre de Lausanne

1. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": I. Allegro

2. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": II. Largo a Pianissimo Sempre

3. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": III. Allegro. Danza Pastorale

4. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer": I. Allegro Non Molto

5. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer": II. Adagio - Presto

6. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "Summer": III. Presto

7. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn": I. Allegro

8. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn": II. Adagio Molto

9. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "Autumn": III. Allegro "La Caccia"

10. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": I. Allegro Non Molto

11. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": II. Largo

12. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "Winter": III. Allegro

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