Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Berliner Barock Solisten & Daishin Kashimoto

• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 "Spring":
• 1 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": I. Allegro 03:11
• 2 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": II. Largo e pianissimo 02:45
• 3 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": III. Allegro 03:45
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer":
• 4 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer": I. Allegro mà non molto 05:13
• 5 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer": II. Adagio 02:07
• 6 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer": III. Presto 02:34
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn":
• 7 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn": I. Allegro 04:50
• 8 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn": II. Adagio molto 03:15
• 9 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn": III. Allegro 03:03
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter":
• 10 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter": I. Allegro non molto 03:20
• 11 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter": II. Largo 01:51
• 12 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter": III. Allegro 03:08
• Total Runtime 39:02

Info for Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

The Berlin Baroque Soloists always inspire their audiences with the “brilliance, cohesion and sensitivity of their interpretations” (Der Tagesspiegel). In this concert from December 2013, they look back on the old year with a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – with the Philharmoniker’s concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto as the soloist. There are also works by Arcangelo Corelli, including the famous “Christmas Concerto”.

Joined by recorder players Saskia Fikentscher and Susann Seegers, the Berlin Baroque Soloists bring their artistry to works including Arcangelo Corelli’s famous “Christmas Concerto” – the Concerto Grosso in G minor, op. 6 No. 8 – in the 1725 version for strings, two recorders and continuo. Then Berliner Philharmoniker 1st concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto presents the even more famous Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni), supreme examples of musical illustration and characterisation to which Antonio Vivaldi attached programmatic interpretations in sonnet form, elucidating the extra-musical references down to the tiniest detail.

The first concerto, La primavera (“Spring”), begins in festive mood, with motivic repetitions and echo effects, and then the singing of the birds is imitated with trills, repeated notes and other embellishments: “Joyful Spring has arrived, and the birds welcome it with their happy songs.” The last piece – L’inverno (“Winter”) – on the other hand, conveys the impression of nature frozen in winter with throbbing quavers (eighth notes), a series of mordents and chains of dissonances: “Shivering in the icy snow and in the terrible wind, we stamp our feet while our teeth are chattering.”

Berliner Barock Solisten
Daishin Kashimoto, violin, direction
Saskia Fikentscher, recorder
Susann Seegers, recorder

The Berlin Baroque Soloists ensemble
was founded in 1995 by Rainer Kussmaul, Raimar Orlovsky, and other members of the Berlin Philharmonic, alongside early music specialists. Their aim was to present high-level performances of early music on modern instruments. This concept does not contradict the idea of historical performance practice. The size of the ensemble varies according to the requirements of each programme.

Rainer Kussmaul (1946-2017), with his established international experience and great expertise in Baroque Music, led the ensemble until 2010.

Since 2010, the Berlin Baroque Soloists has adapted its leaders to each project: Bernhard Forck, Daniel Gaede, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Gottfried von der Goltz, Daniel Hope, Daishin Kashimoto and Daniel Sepec were among the few leaders over the past decade.

The ensemble focuses on unjustly forgotten masterpieces, especially those by Georg Philipp Telemann and more unknown composers.

The ensemble has performed with renowned singers and soloists such as Christine Schäfer, Anna Prohaska, Dorothea Röschmann, Christiane Oelze, Sandrine Piau, Sybilla Rubens, Bernarda Fink, Genia Kühmeier, Thomas Quasthoff, Mark Padmore, Michael Schade, Andreas Staier, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Emmanuel Pahud, Jacques Zoon, Albrecht Mayer, Jonathan Kelly, Radek Baborak, Maurice Steger, Reinhold Friedrich, Christine Schornsheim.

Prominent german actors, such as Christian Ehring, Burghart Klaußner und Armin Müller-Stahl, have joined them for concerts as well.

In 2014, the Berlin Baroque Soloists held their first performance with a conductor, in which early music specialist Reinhard Goebel directed a C.P.E. Bach - Jubilee Concert at the Berlin Philharmonie. The concert was recorded by Sony and well received by critics.

Their following recording: the Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach, once again conducted by Reinhard Goebel, rose to such a success that the ensemble decided to hold a European Tour. They then named Goebel as their new artistic director.

In the past, the group has worked with various record labels, such as Sony, EMI and Deutsche Grammophon, receiving positive reviews throughout their recording career and reaching peaks when they received a Grammy Award in 2005 and the Opus Klassic in 2018.

Booklet for Vivaldi: The Four Seasons