The Seasons

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In this concert, the Divertissement Chamber Orchestra, led by soloist and artistic director Ilya Ioff, performs two iconic "Four Seasons" cycles from the 18th and 20th centuries. The program sets up a dialogue between two musical eras and cultures, juxtaposing Antonio Vivaldi’s Baroque imagery with the expressive passion of Astor Piazzolla’s Argentine tango. The evening’s concept is built on contrast and complementarity. The first half presents Vivaldi’s canonical cycle, one of the most recognizable works in classical music. The second half features Piazzolla’s cycle in Leonid Desyatnikov’s witty and free transcription for solo violin and string orchestra. Desyatnikov’s arrangement incorporates quotations from Vivaldi and reflects the opposite seasons of the northern and southern hemispheres: for example, Piazzolla’s Summer in Buenos Aires plays against hints of Vivaldi’s Winter in Europe. This creates a rich dialogue between two composers and their worlds, offering a fresh perspective on both works.