Vol. 8 of Philips' Vivaldi series. Last one available.
Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is actually part of a larger group of works, the Twelve Violin Concertos, op. 8. This set, in turn, has an additional subtitle: "The Contest Between Invention and Harmony"; not that anyone is quite sure what this means. Aside from The Four Seasons there are several other works with subtitles, including "Storm at Sea," "The Hunt" and "Rapture." It's only natural that when you've composed some 600 concertos for various instruments, the ones with the catchy names will become the most popular. But the others are no less fine, and if your interest in Vivaldi goes beyond the "Big Four," then you might want to check out this excellent set. --David Hurwitz
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