He feels it's a natural link between Vivaldi and himself.

Then he says he thinks the regular patterns of Vivaldi's music connect with his own brand of post-minimalism. I've used electronics in several movements, subtle, almost inaudible tings to do with the bass, but I wanted certain moments to connect to the whole electronic universe that is so much part of our musical language today.' OK.Ĭoncerning other movements, Richter tells us he wanted to convey the feeling of contemporary dance music and also the style of various pop bands of the 60's and 70's like the Beach Boys and the Beatles. He opens the music with what he describes as 'a dubby cloud which I've called 'Spring 0.' It serves as a sort of prelude, setting up an electronic, ambient space for the first 'Spring' movement to step into. In a booklet note, Richter explains that he 'wanted to get inside the score at the level of the notes and in essence rewrite it, re-composing it in a literal way.' Fair enough.

In its favor, and in kind of a bizarre twist of fate, the recording has noted violinist Daniel Hope playing the solo part on a 1742 Guarneri del Gesu violin, Richter on a Moog, and Maestro Andre de Ridder leading the Berlin Konzerthaus Chamber Orchestra in accompaniment. If you're a traditionalist who doesn't appreciate modern musicians messing with established classics, you may hate it. If you can accept his newly reconstructed view for itself, you may just find it fascinating fun. Whether you'll like Richter's approach, however, is a pretty big question mark. Richter has said he discarded about three-quarters of Vivaldi's original material, and the parts he does use he phased and looped, which recall the composer's roots in minimalist and postmodern music. He premiered it at London's Barbican Centre in October 2012, and it soon picked up a huge following for its reductive approach to the old warhorse. Such is the case with British composer Max Richter's reimagining of Vivaldi's perennial favorite The Four Seasons, which Richter recomposed for solo violin, Moog synthesizer, and chamber orchestra. I don't suppose there's anything new under the sun, and every now and then even the not-so-new becomes new again. Also, Shadows 1-5 'Remixes.' Daniel Hope, violin Andre de Ridder, Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin.

Max richter 4 seasons