---
title: "Thoughts on Vivaldi's \"Spring\""
description: A brief discussion of spring, Vivaldi, and program music.
image: https://blog.sharmusic.com/hs-fs/file-14336393-jpg/images/vivaldi-antonio-03-resized-600.jpg
---

### [sharmusic.com](https://www.sharmusic.com/shop.axd/sharmusic.com)

Enjoy FREE 2-4 Day Shipping on your order of $30 or more! (shipped to the 48 contiguous states)

[![Shar](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hubfs/SharMusic_December2018%20Theme/Images/logo.jpg)](https://www.sharmusic.com/)

- Shop
- [Rentals](https://www.sharmusic.com/Rentals/)
- [Learn](https://www.sharmusic.com/SHAR-Library/)
- [Teach](https://www.sharmusic.com/shop.axd/Teachers)
- [![Shar Collection](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hubfs/SharMusic_December2018%20Theme/Images/logo-collection-black.png)](https://collection.sharmusic.com/)

- [Log In](https://www.sharmusic.com/shop.axd/LoginForm)

```

```

** 

Search ✕

- [Home](https://blog.sharmusic.com)
- Shar Music Blog

# Shar Music Blog

- [Shar Services](https://www.sharmusic.com/Services/)

### Posts by Topic

- [#BlackIsClassical (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/blackisclassical)
- [#caseconfessions (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/caseconfessions)
- [#childrensday (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/childrensday)
- [#confidence (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/confidence)
- [#fathersday (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fathersday)
- [#internationalchildrensday (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/internationalchildrensday)
- [#playon (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/playon)
- [#tinaavsharian (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tinaavsharian)
- [20th Century (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/20th-century)
- [20th Century Composers (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/20th-century-composers)
- [50th Anniversary (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/50th-anniversary)
- [A Million Ways To Play (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/a-million-ways-to-play)
- [Accessories (12)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/accessories)
- [ACMP (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/acmp)
- [Adventures in Violinland (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/adventures-in-violinland)
- [Advice (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/advice)
- [Alternative Strings (12)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/alternative-strings)
- [American Case Company (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/american-case-company)
- [American Classical (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/american-classical)
- [Andrés Cárdenes (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/andrés-cárdenes)
- [Arnold Steinhardt (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/arnold-steinhardt)
- [Auditions (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/auditions)
- [Bach (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bach)
- [Bags (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bags)
- [Barenreiter (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/barenreiter)
- [Bass (29)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bass)
- [Bass Bag (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bass-bag)
- [Beethoven (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/beethoven)
- [Beginner Violin (34)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/beginner-violin)
- [Bernard Greenhouse (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bernard-greenhouse)
- [Bernstein (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bernstein)
- [Birthday Blogs (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/birthday-blogs)
- [Black History Month (9)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/black-history-month)
- [Blackwing Pencils (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/blackwing-pencils)
- [Blog (9)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/blog)
- [books (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/books)
- [Bows (15)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bows)
- [BowStopper (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bowstopper)
- [Brahms (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/brahms)
- [Bullying (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bullying)
- [Busking (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/busking)
- [Buying Guide (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/buying-guide)
- [cadenza (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cadenza)
- [Carbon Fiber (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/carbon-fiber)
- [Carlo Lamberti (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/carlo-lamberti)
- [Cases (11)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cases)
- [catgut (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/catgut)
- [CD Play-Alongs (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cd-play-alongs)
- [Celebrations (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/celebrations)
- [Cello (46)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cello)
- [Chairs (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/chairs)
- [Chamber music (11)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/chamber-music)
- [Charles Avsharian (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/charles-avsharian)
- [Cheap Violins (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cheap-violins)
- [Checklist (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/checklist)
- [Children's Music Series (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/childrens-music-series)
- [China (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/china)
- [chinrests (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/chinrests)
- [Christian Howes (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/christian-howes)
- [Christian Tetzlaff (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/christian-tetzlaff)
- [Christmas (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/christmas)
- [Claire Delbos (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/claire-delbos)
- [Classical (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical)
- [Classical Music (39)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical-music)
- [Classical Revolution (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical-revolution)
- [Coloring Contest (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/coloring-contest)
- [Composers (17)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/composers)
- [concert mute (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/concert-mute)
- [Conservatory (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/conservatory)
- [Contests (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/contests)
- [Cushy (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cushy)
- [Dame Ethel Smyth (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/dame-ethel-smyth)
- [David Crowder (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/david-crowder)
- [Debussy (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/debussy)
- [Diversity (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/diversity)
- [Donation (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/donation)
- [Dvorak (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/dvorak)
- [eCatalog (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/ecatalog)
- [Edith Eisler Scholarship (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/edith-eisler-scholarship)
- [Education (32)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/education)
- [Electric (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/electric)
- [Electric Violin (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/electric-violin)
- [Elementary School (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/elementary-school)
- [Elgar (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/elgar)
- [Embassy (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/embassy)
- [Ensemble Playing (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/ensemble-playing)
- [Entrepreneurship (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/entrepreneurship)
- [Ernő Dohnányi (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/ernő-dohnányi)
- [Evelyn Avsharian (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/evelyn-avsharian)
- [Expand the Canon (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/expand-the-canon)
- [Fanny Hensel (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fanny-hensel)
- [Female Composers (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/female-composers)
- [Fiddle (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fiddle)
- [Fine Instruments (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fine-instruments)
- [Flexible Ensembes (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/flexible-ensembes)
- [folding stand (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/folding-stand)
- [Folk (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/folk)
- [Food (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/food)
- [For Fun (21)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/for-fun)
- [Franz Hoffmann (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/franz-hoffmann)
- [French Violins (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/french-violins)
- [Fritz Kreisler (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fritz-kreisler)
- [German Violins (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/german-violins)
- [Gifts (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/gifts)
- [Good Vibrations (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/good-vibrations)
- [Green Line (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/green-line)
- [Gregorian Chant (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/gregorian-chant)
- [Guide (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/guide)
- [Guitar (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/guitar)
- [Halloween (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/halloween)
- [Haydn (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/haydn)
- [Health (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/health)
- [Heritage (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/heritage)
- [Heritage Go! (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/heritage-go)
- [High School (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/high-school)
- [Higher Education (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/higher-education)
- [Holiday Music (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/holiday-music)
- [honorable mentions (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/honorable-mentions)
- [Humidity (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/humidity)
- [Humor (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/humor)
- [Improvisation (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/improvisation)
- [In Home Trial (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/in-home-trial)
- [In the Key of Strawberry (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/in-the-key-of-strawberry)
- [Injury (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/injury)
- [Instrument Care (14)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/instrument-care)
- [Instrument Repair (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/instrument-repair)
- [Instrument Stand (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/instrument-stand)
- [Irish Fiddle (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/irish-fiddle)
- [Italian Violins (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/italian-violins)
- [Jascha Heifetz (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/jascha-heifetz)
- [Jazz (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/jazz)
- [John Cheng (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/john-cheng)
- [Jonny Greenwood (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/jonny-greenwood)
- [K&M (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/km)
- [Kathryn Schutmaat (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/kathryn-schutmaat)
- [Koe (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/koe)
- [Kreisler (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/kreisler)
- [Lessons (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/lessons)
- [Mahler (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mahler)
- [Manhasset (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/manhasset)
- [Mark O'Connor (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mark-o39connor)
- [mark oconnor (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mark-oconnor)
- [Mark Wood (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mark-wood)
- [Martha Yasuda (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/martha-yasuda)
- [Mendelssohn (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mendelssohn)
- [Method Books (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/method-books)
- [Metronomes (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/metronomes)
- [motivation (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/motivation)
- [Mozart (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mozart)
- [Music By Black Composers (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-by-black-composers)
- [Music Careers (11)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-careers)
- [Music Clips (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-clips)
- [Music Degree (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-degree)
- [Music Education (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-education)
- [Music History (14)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-history)
- [Music Stands (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-stands)
- [Music Theory (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-theory)
- [Mutes (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mutes)
- [My Very First Cello Method (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/my-very-first-cello-method)
- [Nerissa Nields (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/nerissa-nields)
- [O Sole Mio (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/o-sole-mio)
- [Olivier Messiaen (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/olivier-messiaen)
- [Online Lessons (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/online-lessons)
- [Orchestra Method (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/orchestra-method)
- [orchestra stand (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/orchestra-stand)
- [Paganini (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/paganini)
- [Parents (22)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/parents)
- [peak (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/peak)
- [Pedagogy (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pedagogy)
- [Performance (20)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/performance)
- [Pernambuco (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pernambuco)
- [photo contest (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/photo-contest)
- [Piano (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/piano)
- [Pickups (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pickups)
- [Pizzicato (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pizzicato)
- [Play-Alongs (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/play-alongs)
- [Practice (23)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/practice)
- [practice mute (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/practice-mute)
- [practice tips (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/practice-tips)
- [Pre-amps (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pre-amps)
- [Preamps (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/preamps)
- [PRESTO (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/presto)
- [Product Reviews (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/product-reviews)
- [Professional H-Series (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/professional-h-series)
- [Progressive Rock (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/progressive-rock)
- [Puccini (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/puccini)
- [Quiz (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/quiz)
- [Rachel Barton Pine (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rachel-barton-pine)
- [Rebecca Clarke (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rebecca-clarke)
- [Recipes (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/recipes)
- [Recital (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/recital)
- [Relaxation (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/relaxation)
- [Revolution Strings (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/revolution-strings)
- [Richard Dare (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/richard-dare)
- [rock & roll (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rock-roll)
- [Romantic (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/romantic)
- [Rosin (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rosin)
- [Rossini (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rossini)
- [Saint-Saens (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/saint-saens)
- [Sassmannshaus (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sassmannshaus)
- [Schoenberg (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/schoenberg)
- [School (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/school)
- [Schubert (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/schubert)
- [Self-Improvement (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/self-improvement)
- [SHAR (32)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar)
- [SHAR Ann Arbor (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar-ann-arbor)
- [SHAR Apprentice (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar-apprentice)
- [SHAR Event (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar-event)
- [Sheet Music (18)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sheet-music)
- [Shirley Givens (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shirley-givens)
- [Shostakovich (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shostakovich)
- [Shoulder Rests (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shoulder-rests)
- [Sibelius (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sibelius)
- [Silent Violin (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/silent-violin)
- [Social Media (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/social-media)
- [Sphinx Organization (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sphinx-organization)
- [Stevens Point (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/stevens-point)
- [Stradivari (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/stradivari)
- [Straps (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/straps)
- [Stravinsky (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/stravinsky)
- [String Community (27)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-community)
- [string instruments (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-instruments)
- [String Quartet (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-quartet)
- [String Quartet Competition 2012 (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-quartet-competition-2012)
- [String Quartet Competition 2013 (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-quartet-competition-2013)
- [Strings (17)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/strings)
- [Student Violin (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/student-violin)
- [Summer Camp (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/summer-camp)
- [Super-Lite (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/super-lite)
- [Suzuki (31)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/suzuki)
- [Symphony (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/symphony)
- [Tartini (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tartini)
- [Tchaikovsky (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tchaikovsky)
- [Teaching (32)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/teaching)
- [Teaching Aids (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/teaching-aids)
- [Technique (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/technique)
- [The alt Default (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/the-alt-default)
- [The Lives of Artists... In Their Own Words (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/the-lives-of-artists-in-their-own-words)
- [The Rite of Spring (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/the-rite-of-spring)
- [Time for Three (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/time-for-three)
- [Tips (13)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tips)
- [Tom Heimberg (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tom-heimberg)
- [Toshira (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/toshira)
- [Total Violinist (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/total-violinist)
- [Tourte Mute (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tourte-mute)
- [Travel (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/travel)
- [Traveller (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/traveller)
- [Troubleshooting (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/troubleshooting)
- [Tuners (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tuners)
- [Urtext (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/urtext)
- [Used Violins (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/used-violins)
- [Valentine's Day (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/valentine39s-day)
- [Viola (53)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/viola)
- [Violin (140)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin)
- [Violin Bridge (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-bridge)
- [Violin Concerto (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-concerto)
- [Violin Making (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-making)
- [Violin Method (15)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-method)
- [violin practice (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-practice)
- [Violin Repertoire (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-repertoire)
- [Violin-Shaped Object (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-shaped-object)
- [Vivaldi (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/vivaldi)
- [Wagner (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wagner)
- [Website (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/website)
- [Wedding (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wedding)
- [winners (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/winners)
- [wish list (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wish-list)
- [Women's History Month (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/womens-history-month)
- [Wrist Rascal (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wrist-rascal)
- [Zombie Survival (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/zombie-survival)

[See all](https://blog.sharmusic.com/blog/bid/83188/Thoughts-on-Vivaldi-s-Spring#)

### Recent Posts

### Subscribe for Blog Updates

Search SHAR Blog

[![blog-banner3](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hubfs/blog-banner3.jpg) ](https://blog.sharmusic.com/)

## Thoughts on Vivaldi's "Spring"

Posted by [Alberta Barnes](https://blog.sharmusic.com/author/alberta-barnes) on Mar 19, 2012 2:58:00 PM

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

[![Vivaldi Antonio 03 resized 600](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hs-fs/file-14336393-jpg/images/vivaldi-antonio-03-resized-600.jpg?width=258&height=293&name=vivaldi-antonio-03-resized-600.jpg)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi)

It is so sunny and warm in Ann Arbor right now (over 80° this week!) that the topic of spring remains on my mind. I personally see connections between the Tchaik serenade and elements of spring, as [mentioned previously](https://blog.sharmusic.com/blog/bid/82998/A-Meditation-on-Tchaikovsky-s-Serenade-for-Strings), but what about a more explicitly programmatic springtime piece?

It might be time to take a look at Vivaldi’s “Spring” concerto from *[The Four Seasons](http://www.sharmusic.com/Sheet-Music/Violin/w-47-Piano/Vivaldi-Antonio---Four-Seasons-Complete-For-Violin-and-Piano-URTEXT-Published-by-Barenreiter.axd#sthash.Vg3ZcyIx.YU3SvKf8.dpbs).* We can’t get much more explicit than this, especially for a Baroque piece.

*The Four Seasons* are four violin concerti that were part of a set of twelve concerti entitled *[The Contest between Harmony and Invention](http://imslp.org/wiki/Il_cimento_dell%27armonia_e_dell%27inventione,_Op.8_%28Vivaldi,_Antonio%29).* In this set Vivaldi sets forth to demonstrate the difference between the prevailing manner of composition of the time and a more innovative, imaginative form of composition. *The Four Seasons* fall into the latter category. The piece is almost explicitly programmatic; sonnets are included in the published manuscript line by line with their corresponding musical phrases. The author of these sonnets is unverified, but it is widely assumed to be Vivaldi himself.

Have you read the poetry? Check it out:

**Spring – Concerto in E Major**

***Allegro***  
* Springtime is upon us. *  
* The birds celebrate her return with festive song,*  
* and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.*  
* Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven,*  
* Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more.*

***Largo***  
* On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps, his faithful dog beside him.*

*** Allegro***  
* Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds lightly dance beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.*

(Obviously, the original poems were written in Italian, so the sonnet form has disappeared in the English translation.)

The concerto, admittedly, is a bit overplayed. Correspondingly, many violinists view the piece as an inane “pop-classical” work. But, if we look past the ubiquity of the concerto in commercials, movie soundtracks, and [Italian restaurants](https://blog.sharmusic.com/blog/bid/81725/Happy-Valentine-s-Day-Romance-Gone-Wrong) (cough!), we have to admit that *The Four Seasons* are actually very innovative. “Program music” didn’t really explode onto the scene until the Romantic era and so we have to appreciate how explicitly programmatic these concerti really are. Observe, for example, the barking dog motive in the viola part of the Largo from “Spring.” Or the chirping birds in the opening Allegro. Besides, even though many joke about Vivaldi writing the same violin concerto 200 times, we have to give the composer homage for having solidified the standard three movement concerto form nearly singlehandedly.

Ultimately, the *Four Seasons* are quite pleasant and unmistakably popular. The poetry may not be the most profound set of sonnets ever composed, but there is an innocent simplicity about them. I always enjoy reading the poetic phrases as I play through the piece, and, even though it isn’t quite July yet, I always laugh when I get to the slow movement of “Summer”:

***Adagio e piano - Presto e forte***  
*His limbs are now awakened from their repose by fear of lightning's flash and thunder's roar, as gnats and flies buzz furiously around.*

 Topics: [Violin](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin), [Classical Music](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical-music), [Violin Concerto](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-concerto), [Vivaldi](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/vivaldi)

#### Come See Us

SHAR Showroom  
 2465 S. Industrial  
 Ann Arbor, MI 48104

- [Get Directions](https://goo.gl/maps/pJkTYymTLn82)
- [See Store Hours](https://sharmusic.com/Pages/Customer-Service/Contact-Us/)

- [Shar Blog](https://blog.sharmusic.com/)
- [Browse Catalog](https://snapshotdesign.ipaperus.com/SharMusic/SHARMusicCatalog/)
- [SHAR Collection](https://collection.sharmusic.com/Violin/)
- *(800) 248-7427*

- [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharmusic)
- [Twitter](http://twitter.com/shar_music)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/sharviolinshop/)
- [You Tube](http://www.youtube.com/user/SharMusicTV)
- [Blog](https://blog.sharmusic.com/)
- [Email](https://sharmusic.com/shop.axd/EmailSignup)

##### © 2018 SHAR products co., All Rights Reserved