Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons album cover
Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons

André de Ridder , Max Richter , Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin , Daniel Hope

Composed by:  Max Richter

2012
Deutsche Grammophon

It’s a bit hard to say whether or not this was a good idea but it was a useful idea. Richter revised The Four Seasons, the wedding season’s ace in the hole, by taking out more than three-quarters of the music. Looping what was left and rearranging it, he essentially sent Vivaldi through Aphex Twin and Philip Glass and plonked him in the middle of the 21st century. That said, the results mostly work. What is most impressive is that he was able to keep the overall gestalt of this work—upbeat and clear—and retain it while reducing the music to a bright coil of motifs. Looping is possibly the most important development in the last fifty years, and making classical musicians play through its tendencies is an important step.

Sasha Frere-Jones

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