VIVALDI : THE NEW FOUR SEASONS
A Venetian masterpiece for the 21st Century
Antonio Vivaldi, one of the greatest Venetian baroque composers wrote excellent pieces for woodwind instruments, specifically for the bassoon. After the violin, to which the composer dedicated 230 concertos, the bassoon is the instrument for which he wrote the most concertos.
Burak Özdemir – quoted by the press as one of the most fascinating bassoonists of our time, selected four out of 39 Vivaldi bassoon concertos to pay homage to Antonio Vivaldi. THE NEW FOUR SEASONS is a cycle for solo bassoon and a chamber orchestra of lute, harpsichord and baroque strings. After examining the entire collection of Vivaldi’s bassoon works, Özdemir has chosen the concertos RV 484, 497, 481 and 498 for his project. “These concertos are extremely rare in so many ways. Their melodies bring out simply all kind of unheard colors of the bassoon and the virtuosity is constantly at the highest level.” says Özdemir.
The four concertos are connected to each other by gentle intermezzos for solo lute, violin and cello to create a unique performance experience with the widest sound spectrum possible. The instruments seemingly engage in an intimate dialogue, performed by ensemble Musica Sequenza on Venetian period instruments of the 18th century.
Vivaldi’s music reminds us the essence of a human being, is being a part of the nature. Özdemir created this project in 2010 at the Juilliard School, at a time we were witnessing the very first signs of the climate change. Özdemir’s contemporary study of Vivaldi, aims to raise awareness of global warming. The work captures modern human life in an ecosystem under environmental pressures, where the contrasts between the four seasons may no longer exist as we know them . “It’s a designed program, based on the forgotten treasures of the European cultural history. I am thrilled to contribute this work to Vivaldi’s most favorite wind instrument: bassoon.” says Özdemir. The internationally touring production THE NEW FOUR SEASONS was developed in collaboration with Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Borusan Culture Foundation and Radial System V Berlin and has visited leading festivals and concert halls worldwide since its creation.
WINTER
An ice-melting sunny dream,
Came through my window that night.
Warmer than it was,
Telling the story of overseas.
Like Butterflies…
SPRING
It’s the heat on my skin, red and more
Made my pulse rough, my heart sink.
The beat was up like a dance for the rain,
What’s missing there was the green beauty.
SUMMER
Stars above us, flaking bright lights…
In my ear are your whispering words.
The Northern wind catches my heart,
While chilling a hot summer night.
AUTUMN
Opening a new page of a book,
Not calm enough to finish it.
My coffee is cold, have no hands to cook.
It’s the “missing one red leave on a tree” week.