I've been lucky enough to have attended a faculty recital at Paul Hall every Saturday evening this season since mid-September. I'm very grateful that Juilliard made these events available to the public. The recitals, about which I've posted here regularly, have provided an invaluable opportunity for me to hear, at no cost, innovative programs performed by world class musicians. Yesterday evening, Shirley Givens brought the series to a dramatic close. Rather than perform with an accompanist, she brought onstage a full chamber orchestra made up of her former students and conducted by her husband Harry Wimmer.
The piece performed was The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni) by the Venetian composer, priest and violinist Antonio Vivaldi, certainly one of the most popular works in the Baroque repertoire and one of historical importance as well. Comprised of the first four concerti from a set of twelve that form Vivaldi's Op. 8 (1723), its early use of three movements (fast, slow, fast) performed by solo instrument and ensemble helped standardize the structure of the concerto itself.
Vivaldi's tone poem was meant to accompany a set of sonatas believed written by the composer himself vividly describing each season in turn. These poems, translated into English, were used as narration last evening and helped heighten the effect of the music. This was one of the best renditions of this famous work I've heard, and the level of ability displayed by all was superb. Four soloists, each of whom performed for the length of one season, alternated during the length of the piece. During the final movement, Ms. Givens herself moved briefly to center stage to share the solo with Joseph Lin, first violinist of the Juilliard Quartet.
Further details as well as a fuller listing of the musicians who performed at the recital can be found in an article in The Juilliard Journal.
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