The Aromsa Chamber Orchestra, conducted by the Spanish conductor and oboist Jose Francisco Sanchez, start with Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, in which the solo part will be played by the Vietnamese violinist Chuong Vu. This work was composed between 1718 and 1720, when Vivaldi was court chapel master at Mantua. The Four Seasons is one of the earliest examples of ‘programme music’ – music that follows a narrative: ‘a revolution in musical conception,’ writes an anonymous author in Wikipedia. ‘Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterised), a shepherd and his barking dog, buzzing flies, storms, drunken dancers, hunting parties from both the hunters’ and the prey’s point of view, frozen landscapes, and warm winter fires.’
In the second half, the orchestra will play Mozart’s Symphony No 29 in A major, K 201/186a, completed in 1774. Marianne Williams Tobias, writing on the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra website, tells us the following:
*Approximately one third of Mozart’s total symphonic output was generated in just two years between 1772–1774. After that, between the summer of 1774 and the spring of 1778, Mozart turned away from symphonic writing because other forms of instrumental compositions received his interest. One of the most interesting and polished symphonies emanating from fertile two-year period was Symphony No. 29, K. 201.
On every count, Symphony No. 29 is a fine specimen of gallant writing: well bred, charming, polite and faithful to the Viennese classical model. Its light-hearted charm and elegance intends a work which is truly meant to entertain and delight. For this purpose, Mozart chose to score the work modestly. Aside from the basic string component, only a pair of oboes and pair of horns are required. The economy of means in no way limits or impedes its symphonic character.*
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
