Out of interest, I checked the number of available recordings, and there are currently some 310 versions, both in baroque and modern-day formats, as well as one for electric violin by Nigel Kennedy. Of course, choosing such a well-known work for a debut recording, and not even coupling it with any other work might be considered somewhat risky. It was most fortuitous, they felt, that the soloist on this occasion, should be British violinist, and currently associate leader of London Mozart Players, Victoria Sayles. The ensemble has performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons many times already, and with over twenty different soloists, so it was decided that it should showcase their debut recording, on the Sleeveless Records label. The Piccadilly Sinfonietta, we are informed in the otherwise sparse CD notes, was formed in 2017, and has given over eighty concerts a year since then, under the artistic direction of its founder, pianist Warren Mailley-Smith. Many might dispute the validity of such a survey, but it would, I feel, be fair to say that Vivaldi’s work is probably up there somewhere in Classic FM’s popularity stakes. Less than a year ago, UK independent radio station, Classic FM, published its list of ‘The fifteen most famous tunes in classical music’, where Vivaldi’s Four Seasons took sixth place. October 2021, St George’s Headstone, Harrow, UK

Support us financially by purchasing fromĬoncerto No 1 in E major, ‘Spring’, Op 8/1, RV269 Ĭoncerto No 2 in G minor, ‘Summer’, Op 8/2, RV315 Ĭoncerto No 3 in F major, ‘Autumn’, Op 8/3, RV293 Ĭoncerto No 4 in F minor, ‘Winter’, Op 8/4, RV297

4 seasons classical music