Antonio Vivaldi: THE FOUR SEASONS - plus works by G.F. Handel and J. Haydn

Antonio Vivaldi:
The Four Seasons

Georg Friedrich Handel:
Water Music, Orchestral Suite No. 1

Joseph Haydn:
Farewell Symphony

The renowned Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Prague - well known across Germany - presents three highlights from its extensive repertoire: two masterworks of Baroque music (Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" and Handel's "Water Music") alongside a cornerstone of Viennese Classicism (Haydn's "Farewell Symphony"). The three pieces were carefully chosen to complement one another and form a coherent, satisfying programme.

Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" is almost certainly his most famous work. The composer, himself a virtuoso violinist, linked four violin concertos - each depicting one season. Above all, natural phenomena are evoked: spring brings a tangle of birdsong from many different species. Summer conveys oppressive heat and the longing for relief, then a violent thunderstorm; the buzzing of bees and swarms of mosquitoes. A drinking song and hunting motifs paint autumn. Wind, rain, perhaps snowfall - set against warming by the fireside and a skater on the ice - capture the contrasts of winter: the comfort of home and the harshness outside. Many great composers (Haydn among them) have tackled the four seasons as a theme, but the most inspired musical portrait of nature remains Vivaldi's.

The origins of Handel's "Water Music" are wrapped in various anecdotes. One story has it that the composer moved from Hanover (whose ruling house was related to the English crown) to London, and won favour with his new patron, King George I, by providing music for a royal pleasure trip on the Thames. This is documented, however, only for the second suite.