Piazzolla - The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Vivaldi - The Four Seasons The Scottish Ensemble
Signum SIGCD231

Release date February 2011

Recorded live at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh last year, this release from the Scottish Ensemble is great fun. The Eight Seasons combines Vivaldi's familiar Four Seasons with Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, alternating between the two composers. If Vivaldi's Seasons could be described as pictorial, then Piazzolla's does something different in an exploration of emotions. Piazzolla's Seasons were arranged originally for Gidon Kremer by Leonid Desyatnikov (a Russian composer and arranger). As the sleeve-notes explain, "what he did here was to take Piazzolla's originals and 'vivaldify' them…weaving in all kinds of clever allusions to Vivaldi." The allusions work well - just listen to the flourish at the end of Piazzolla's Summer; there is no mistaking the influence! The effect of this is that despite the apparent vast differences between the two composers, there is an underlying "Vivaldi" thread throughout the Eight Seasons. If this isn't enough to keep you on your toes, Piazzolla's seasons are out of sync with those of Vivaldi. After all, "when it is summer in Vivaldi's Venice, it is winter in Piazzolla's Buenos Aires." Violinist Jonathan Morton (artistic director of the Scottish Ensemble) is the soloist and his playing is superb. For those who were lucky enough to be present at the concert, this disc will no doubt make a marvellous memento; for others, the CD can provide an opportunity to discover what happens when 18th-century Italy meets 20th-century Argentina.


Reviewed by Ruth Squire