Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons is a composition that features on a 2012 album by neo-classical composer Max Richter, released on August 31, 2012 on Universal Classics and Jazz (Germany), a division of Universal Music Group, and Deutsche Grammophon,[1] and further recorded by Fenella Humphreys and released on Rubicon Classics in 2019.[2] The piece is a complete recomposition and reinterpretation of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
Studio album by
Max Richter
ReleasedAugust 31, 2012
RecordedMarch 12, 2012
March 13, 2012
StudioB-Sharp
(Berlin, Germany)
Genre
Length43:58
Label
ProducerMax Richter
Max Richter chronology
Infra
(2010)		 Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
(2012)		 Sleep
(2015)
Alternative cover
2014 Deutsche Grammophon cover
Alternative cover
2014 Deutsche Grammophon cover

Although Richter said that he had discarded 75% of Vivaldi's original material,[3] the parts he does use are phased and looped, emphasising his grounding in postmodern and minimalist music.[4]

The Deutsche Grammophon album was played by the violinist Daniel Hope and the Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin symphony orchestra, and conducted by André de Ridder. On the album, Hope plays the "Ex-Lipinski" violin, an instrument made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù in 1742 and made available to the violinist by a German family who asked to remain anonymous.

The Rubicon Classics recording features soloist Fenella Humphreys and the Covent Garden Sinfonia, conducted by Ben Palmer. Humphreys recorded using a violin from the circle of Peter Guarneri of Venice, made in 1727.

Release

Richter’s recomposed version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons was premiered in the UK at the Barbican Centre on 31 October 2012, performed by the Britten Sinfonia, conducted by André de Ridder, with violinist Daniel Hope the soloist.[5] The album topped the iTunes classical chart in the UK, Germany, and the US.[6] The US launch concert in New York at Le Poisson Rouge was recorded by NPR and streamed live.

Critical reception

Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons received widespread acclaim from contemporary classical music critics.

Ivan Hewett of the Telegraph gave the album a very positive review, stating:

As you would expect of a composer who once studied with the great modernist Luciano Berio, Richter is very self-aware. He notices that his own taste in repeating patterns doesn’t mesh with the apparently similar patterns in Vivaldi. They obey a different logic, and the friction between them generates a fascinatingly ambiguous colour. Richter teases out and heightens this colour, sometimes with Vivaldi uppermost, sometimes himself. It is a subtle and often moving piece of work, which suggests that after years of tedious disco and trance versions of Mozart, the field of the classical remix has finally become interesting.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Max Richter.

No.TitleLength
1."Spring 0"0:42
2."Spring 1"2:31
3."Spring 2"3:19
4."Spring 3"3:09
5."Summer 1"4:11
6."Summer 2"3:59
7."Summer 3"5:01
8."Autumn 1"5:42
9."Autumn 2"3:08
10."Autumn 3"1:45
11."Winter 1"3:01
12."Winter 2"2:51
13."Winter 3"4:39
Total length:43:58
Electronic Soundscapes by Max Richter
No.TitleLength
14."Shadow 1"3:53
15."Shadow 2"2:30
16."Shadow 3"3:33
17."Shadow 4"2:33
18."Shadow 5"3:01
Total length:59:28
Remixes
No.TitleLength
19."Spring 1" (Max Richter Remix)4:58
20."Summer 3" (Robot Koch Remix)3:28
21."Autumn 3" (Fear of Tigers Remix – Radio Edit)4:06
22."Winter 3" (NYPC Remix)4:59
Total length:76:59

Personnel

Main personnel

  • Max Richter – composer, mixing, producer, quotation author
  • André de Ridder – conductor
  • Daniel Hope – primary artist, violin [solo]
  • Raphael Alpermann – harpsichord
  • Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin – orchestra
  • Alexander Kahl – cello
  • David Drost – cello
  • Nerina Mancini – cello
  • Ying Guo – cello
  • Ernst-Martin Schmidt – viola
  • Felix Korinth – viola
  • Katja Plagens – viola
  • Matthias Benker – viola
  • Alicia Lagger – violin [first]
  • Christoph Kulicke – violin [first]
  • Karoline Bestehorn – violin [first]
  • Sayako Kusaka – violin [first], concertmaster
  • Cornelia Dill – violin [second]
  • Jana Krämer – violin [second]
  • Johannes Jahnel – violin [second]
  • Ulrike Töppen – violin [second]
  • Ronith Mues – harp
  • Georg Schwärsky – double bass
  • Jorge Villar Paredes – double bass
  • Sandor Tar – double bass

Additional personnel

  • Antonio Vivaldi – original material
  • Felix Feustel – product manager
  • Neil Hutchinson – recording engineer, mixing
  • Christian Kellersmann – original concept
  • Nick Kimberley – liner notes
  • Götz-Michael Rieth – mastering engineer
  • Mandy Parnell – mastering engineer
  • Matthias Schneider – project manager
  • Erik Weiss – photography
  • Jenni Whiteside – editing
  • Double Standards – art direction

Charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[8] 5

References
  1. Recomposed by Max Richter – Antonio Vivaldi – Die vier Jahreszeiten – The Four Seasons: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog
  2. "Rubicon Classics". rubiconclassics.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  3. "Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons". Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  4. Tania Halban (28 November 2012). "Recomposed or refragmented?". Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  5. "Max Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed". 31 October 2012. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  6. "RECOMPOSED | Chart-Erfolg für Max Richters "Vivaldi Recomposed" in den USA | News". Klassikakzente.de. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  7. Hewett, Ivan (2012-10-31). "Vivaldi remixed: classical music reinvents itself". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  8. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
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