Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons


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, the parts he does use are phased and looped, emphasising his grounding in postmodern and minimalist music.
A version by Daniel Hope with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the direction of André de Ridder was released on August 31, 2012 on Universal Classics and Jazz, a division of Universal Music Group, and Deutsche Grammophon, prior to its first live performance. It has since been recorded by other artists.

Premieres in the concert hall

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 US launch concert in New York at Le Poisson Rouge was recorded by NPR and streamed live.

Discography

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.
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.
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.

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.

Personnel

Main personnel
  • Max Richter – composer, mixing, producer, quotation author
  • André de Ridder – conductor
  • Daniel Hope – primary artist, violin
  • 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
  • Christoph Kulicke – violin
  • Karoline Bestehorn – violin
  • Sayako Kusaka – violin, concertmaster
  • Cornelia Dill – violin
  • Jana Krämer – violin
  • Johannes Jahnel – violin
  • Ulrike Töppen – violin
  • 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

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums 5

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French Classical Albums 23

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Year-end charts

Chart Peak
position
Belgian Classical Albums 8
Belgian Classical Albums 17