


He absorbed Vivaldi’s original “into his own musical bloodstream” and has noted that he discarded 75% of Vivaldi’s original work. Max Richter’s “recomposition” did more than transcribe and rearrange. The work has been sliced and diced over the years to provide background music for advertisements such as Peugeot’s 308 Coupe Cabriolet in 2009. The Four Seasons has been popular for hundreds of years, not only in its original form but also in many arrangements and transcriptions specifically for piano, a harp ensemble, jazz groups, recorders, concert band, and many other assorted groups. In the context of music history, these are among the earliest examples of program music - music depicting a narrative or extra-musical event. There is no other author identified, and each sonnet is tripartite and follows the form and spirit of the music. Each musical season was accompanied by an evocative sonnet, attributed to Vivaldi.

One of the most famous works of the Baroque period (1600–1750) is a set of virtuosic pieces by Antonio Vivaldi titled The Four Seasons, published in 1785 within a twelve part set of violin concerti titled Il cimento dell’armonie e dell’inventione (the Contest between Harmony and Invention.) In the original format, Vivaldi called for solo violin, string quartet and basso continuo.
