Antonio Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons' might have been flogged
to death, but it's still a great piece of music and the composer's music
deserves respect. A couple of weeks ago, I saw it performed by the Finnish
conductor and violinist, Pekka Kuusisto, at the BBC Proms. His arrangement of
the Four Seasons, was interspersed with Finnish folk songs. I don't mind folk
music, but there's a time and place for it.
Kuusisto, is a kind of Finnish Nigel Kennedy, who is also
known for clowning about on the stage. John Drummond, the Controller of BBC
Radio 3, once described Kennedy as "a Liberace for the nineties", and
made fun of his "ludicrous"
clothes and "self-invented accent."
Both Kennedy and Kuusisto, come from a family of professional
musicians. I never cared much for Nigel Kennedy's 1989 recording of The Four
Seasons' with the English Chamber Orchestra. For me it lacks subtlety and
finesse. This recording might have sold over 2 million copies, but when
listening to it, I always feel that Kennedy can't get through it quick enough.
Yet, Kennedy, the punk violinist, didn't butcher these four
violin concertos in the way that Kuusisto did, on Sunday night. I didn't find
this arrangement of a great work "refreshing", I just switched
channels. The best recording I have ever heard of The Four Seasons', was by Sir
Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
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