Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons is a composition by contemporary classical composer Max Richter. The piece is a complete recomposition and reinterpretation of Vivaldi's violin concertos The Four Seasons. Although Richter said that he had discarded 75 percent of Vivaldi's original material,[1] the parts he does use are phased and looped, emphasising his grounding in postmodern and minimalist music.[2]
| Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons | ||||
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| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | August 31, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | March 12–13, 2012 | |||
| Studio | B-Sharp, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:58 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Max Richter | |||
| Max Richter chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
2014 Deutsche Grammophon cover
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| Alternative cover | ||||
2014 Deutsche Grammophon cover
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A version by Daniel Hope (violin) with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the direction of André de Ridder was released on August 31, 2012 on Universal Classics and Jazz (Germany), a division of Universal Music Group, and Deutsche Grammophon,[3] prior to its first live performance. It has since been recorded by other artists.
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.[4] The US launch concert in New York at Le Poisson Rouge was recorded by NPR and streamed live.
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 album topped the iTunes classical chart in the UK, Germany, and the US.[5]
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.[6]
Richter recorded a new version of the Four Seasons in 2022 alongside violinist Elena Urioste and the Chineke! Orchestra and released it as The New Four Seasons – Vivaldi Recomposed.[7]
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.[8]
The album received a renewed interest in 2022, when "Spring 1" was used in the season 1 finale of the hit Netflix show Bridgerton.[9] The album's modern interpretation of classical music fit well with the show's themes and became popular on social media platforms after the show aired.
All tracks are written by Max Richter
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Main personnel
Additional personnel
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] | 30 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] | 65 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] | 89 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[13] | 27 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] | 28 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[15] | 85 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 48 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[17] | 99 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 86 |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[19] | 5 |
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] | 34 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] | 97 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] | 18 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] | 38 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] | 11 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] | 57 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 100 |
| USTop Classical Albums (Billboard)[27] | 7 |