Vivaldi, As Quatro Estações de Arcimboldo

Venice, 1723. Antonio Vivaldi, overwhelmed by his duties at the Ospedale della Pietà and under pressure to fulfil a commission from Count Wenzel von Morzin, is struggling with writer’s block. Exhausted, he seeks refuge in a tavern, where a stranger with a scar sells him four mysterious paintings. Back home, he discovers that they depict faces made up of fruit and leaves (works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo). Inspired, Vivaldi composes The Four Seasons in just a few days, guided by the musical visions the paintings evoke. Later, upon discovering the date 1563 on one of the paintings, he realises that the works were stolen and hands them over to the police, but their memory never leaves him. Years later, in Vienna, he tries to find them again, and fate brings him face to face once more with the scarred stranger, sealing the composer’s tragic end.

Concert with commentary by Jorge Salgueiro.

El Corte Inglés supports the CCB’s Classical Music Mediation Programme.