Magic Moments of Music | Vivaldis Four Seasons Recomposed

Turn old into new – a tried and tested approach, but can you do the same with Vivaldi’s legendary Four Seasons? Organist Anna Lapwood’s answer is clear: ‘Nothing is off limits!’ After the release of his album ‘Recomposed’, composer Max Richter initially expected fierce criticism. But the opposite happened – he hit a nerve: over 450 million streams, concerts in classical halls as well as in clubs such as Berghain Berlin or Poisson Rouge in New York, and the distribution of individual tracks in the Bridgerton series testify to the success of the reinterpretation.

What’s touching people when they hear ‘Recomposed’? In this magic moment, prominent artists and contemporary witnesses embark on a journey through the music, recall performance challenges and personal highlights, and explain how the British composer Max Richter put his hand to the 300-year-old work.

‘For me, there is no greater music than Vivaldi’s Four Seasons,’ says violinist Daniel Hope, ‘but when I held Max’s score in my hand, I realised why he had to do it.’ Watching the film footage, concertmaster Werner Ehrhardt also remembers how difficult it was to switch off the Vivaldi autopilot.

Richter’s new composition fascinates the hardcore Vivaldi fan and mandolinist Avi Avital just as much as it does techno producer Stimming, who otherwise is no fan of classical music: a new sound experience even for him.

Composer Malakoff Kowalski is certain that it is impossible to categorise this music by Richter.  ‘Whenever the courtly stuff from Vivaldi doesn’t suit him, he goes into minimalist music, into the neoclassical turn, into film music.’ The timeless movements by Vivaldi on the other hand, Max Richter handles with the greatest care.

Freedom is what violinist Esther Abrami above all thinks of when hearing ‘Recomposed’. Strict expectations of baroque playing styles no longer apply. Choreographer Ana Isabel Casquilho, who has choreographed both Vivaldi’s and Richter’s Four Seasons for ballet productions, also experiences this.