Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Forma Antiqva & Aarón Zapico

• Concertos (4) for Violin, Op. 8 no 1-4 (Four seasons)
• 1Spring04:20
• 2Allegro03:29
• 3Largo E Pianissimo02:41
• Concerto for Violin in G minor, Op. 8 no 2/RV 315 (L'estate)
• 4Allegro03:37
• 5Summer02:55
• 6Allegro Mà Non Molto05:17
• 7Adagio01:41
• Concerto for Violin in F major, Op. 8 no 3/RV 293 (L'autunno)
• 8Presto02:36
• 9Autumn02:55
• 10Allegro05:22
• 11Adagio Molto01:57
• Concerto for Violin in E major, Op. 8 no 1/RV 269 (Primavera)
• 12Allegro03:09
• 13Winter04:13
• 14Allegro non molto03:19
• 15Largo02:03
• 16Allegro03:23
• Total Runtime52:57

Info for Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Aarón Zapico and his baroque ensemble, Forma Antiqva, interpret Vivaldi's concertos with an entirely new approach, on period instruments. Aitor Hevia (violin) slips into various leading parts, mimics birds, a farmer's boy, from who the storm wants to steal the annual harvest, becomes the game being hunted to death and blusters like freezing wind over the frozen land. Vivaldi, who was born during an earthquake, creates four episodes, each in three parts, corresponding with his poems. Theo Bleckmann and Uri Caine compose these sonnets and present here as a première recording 'The Four Seasons Sonnets': Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Bleckmann and Caine act as the narrators for Vivaldi's AudioFilm. The Dutch painter and concept artist Marcel van Eeden is inspired by Zapico's 'Four Seasons' and creates for this musical cycle eight new drawings

„… ensuing interpretations of Vivaldi’s music by the early music ensemble Forma Antiqva, with instruments pushed into more dramatic „acting“ roles, notably Aitor Hevia’s violin. It’s an intriguing approach …“ (The Independent, January 26, 2012)

Forma Antiqva
Aarón Zapico, musical director, harpsichord
Aitor Hevia, solo violin
Guadalupe del Moral, Miren Zeberio, Pablo Prieto, Cibrán Sierra, Cecilia Clares, Judith Verona, violin
Antonio Clares, José Vélez, viola
Diana Vinagre, James Bush, violoncello
Vega Montero, bass
Silvia Márquez, organ & harpsichord
Pablo Zapico, baroque guitar & archlute
Daniel Zapico, theorbo

The Four Seasons Sonnets:
Theo Bleckmann, voice & electronic processing
Uri Caine, piano & electronics

Digital Recording at Auditorio Manuel de Falla (Forma Antiqva), Granada, Spain, July 2011
Digital Recording at Sear Sound (Theo Bleckmann and Uri Caine), NYC, USA, September 2011

Forma Antiqva
is the personal and professional project of the 3 Zapico brothers: {Aarón}, {Daniel} and {Pablo}. Founded in 1999, in just a short time it has managed to secure a leading position in the sector of Baroque music in Spain thanks to their up-to-date, daring and accurate interpretations, their refined image and their presence on social networks.

Daniel, Pablo and Aarón try to ensure that every Forma Antiqva concert is a unique experience, whether playing as a trio, a chamber ensemble or as part of an orchestra.

Born in Asturias, Aarón Zapico has made a forceful arrival on the early music scene in Spain over recent years. The key to this success can be found in his elegant, resilient interpretations with their varied and nuanced dynamics, as highlighted by the specialized music critics. He is constantly present at the most important festivals and concert halls, where he can be found leading symphonic orchestras, specialised groups and his own ensemble Forma Antiqva.

His services are increasingly in demand as a guest conductor and he has had the pleasure of leading the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Malaga, the Orchestra of Extremadura, the Roquetas de Mar Baroque Orchestra and Choir, the Bilbao Choral Society, the Princess of Asturias Foundation Choir, the University of Santander Camerata Choir, the Youth Baroque Orchestra of Andalucía, the Santander Academy of Early Music, Acadèmia 1750, the Baroque Orchestra of Vélez Blanco and the Youth Orchestra of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

In 1999 he founded the baroque music ensemble Forma Antiqva (resident in the Oviedo Auditorium), to which he dedicates most of his time and attention. In just a few years he has managed to secure the ensembles place in the top ranks of historical interpretation thanks to their performances at the most prestigious cycles, their international tours across Europe, Asia and Latin America, as well as their recordings which have been repeatedly praised by international critics.

An exclusive artist of the German record company Winter & Winter since 2009, his recordings as a solo artist and conductor have been nominated on 4 occasions for the International Classical Music Awards (2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017) and have obtained maximum recognition by European critics. His version of Antonio Vivaldi’s celebrated Four Seasons in 2012 had a genuine impact across Europe and was unanimously elected by the critics as an absolute reference point.

Committed to recovering Spanish music from the 17th and 18th centuries, he has directed numerous debuts in modern times of authors such as Blas de Laserna, José Lidón, Antonio Literes, Joaquín Lázaro and Jaime Casellas. In a like manner, his interest in contemporary music and new artistic manifestations has led him to work closely with Ernst Reijseger (1954), and to record his symphonic poem The Volcano Symphony written especially for Forma Antiqva, Fumio Yasuda (1953) or Uri Caine (1956), in the multidisciplinar project Poem of a cell, premiered at the Heineken Jazzaldia in San Sebastian.

With classical training and an outstanding advanced degree in piano from the Conservatory of Oviedo, he specialised in early music and harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where he completed his soloist diploma with the unanimous praise of the board. At the same time, he also received advices from the most renowned worldwide specialists in historical interpretation.

He has collaborated for many years with some of the most outstanding symphonic orchestras and ensembles under the baton of Frans Brüggen, Emilio Moreno, Pablo González, Marzio Conti, Álvaro Albiach and Victor Pablo Pérez.

He has worked as harpsichord and chamber music professor at the conservatories of Murcia and Oviedo and as guest professor on the most important courses on early music. He has also given advanced courses and master classes in places such as Melbourne, Singapore, Gijón, Aracena, Burdeos, Costa Rica, Vélez Blanco, Granada and Albarracín.

In 2009, his restless, committed and entrepreneurial spirit led him to found and direct (until 2013) the Early Music Academy in Gijón. From 2011 to 2013 he also directed the Early Music Festival in the same city, as part of which he created the first International Competition of Early Music in Spain and different pioneering initiatives, such as concerts for disadvantaged people. He has also participated actively in the foundation of GEMA (Association of Spanish Groups of Early Music) and in the Platform for teachers, performers, composers and researchers of the Principality of Asturias.

Aarón Zapico has been finalist as Best Director in the GEMA Awards the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. He has been the recipient of the Asturian of the Month award from La Nueva España newspaper, the Group of the Year 2010 prize from the Television of the Principality of Asturias, the Asturian Music Award in 2012, the Serondaya Award for Cultural Innovation in 2012, and the FestClásica Award (Association of Spanish Festivals of Classical Music) in 2015. He has been member of the Jury for the Princess of Asturias Awards.

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