The comparison between the figures of Antonio Vivaldi and Astor Piazzolla seems like an intriguing exercise. It could be mere provocation or folly. It might also stem from a proposal that, through the confrontation of opposites, aims to sharpen the listener’s aesthetic contemplation. However, there are surprising affinities between the two composers that soften differences as striking as the two and a half centuries that separate them or the distance between the continents from which they come. In any case, the dialogue between Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires will always be a good musical pretext.
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Vivaldi composed the famous Four Seasons around 1720. They are four short concertos for violin and string orchestra, independent from one another, each consisting of three movements, following the common practice of the time for this solo concerto format. For more than two hundred years, their scores remained forgotten until the 1950s, when several vinyl recordings brought them worldwide dissemination and restored the Venetian composer’s well-deserved general recognition. A few years later, Piazzolla explicitly evoked them in the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. This was a homage from one of the most original musicians of the twentieth century to an extraordinary musician of the eighteenth century, one of the most remarkable of all time.
Piazzolla had Italian family roots from the Apulia and Tuscany regions, who immigrated to Argentina in the late nineteenth century, seeking the economic prosperity that was felt there at the time. This is the first emotional bond that stands out between the two composers. The second, considering that Vivaldi was ordained a priest but never actually practiced the priesthood, comes from the lush disposition of his music, which converges with the libertine personality commonly associated with Piazzolla, who was no choirboy either. Equally relevant is the fact that both were exceptional virtuoso performers of their instruments and gave great importance to the spectacular aspect of live performance: Vivaldi on violin, Piazzolla on bandoneón. It is believed that Vivaldi himself played the violin part at the premiere of his concertos, probably leading the private orchestra of an aristocrat. Piazzolla also played the principal part of his music, albeit leading the group of musicians that normally accompanied him. Today, his music is more often heard in adaptations for accordion or violin as soloists, accompanied by orchestra.
Rui Campos Leitão
Images:
Antonio Vivaldi around 1725, painting from François Morellon la Cave | Source: Wikimedia Commons
Astor Piazzolla 1971 | Source: Wikimedia Commons