ANNO: Four Seasons by Anna Meredith & Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi’s classic Four Seasons have inspired plenty of composers, from Astor Piazzolla to Max Richter. Anna Meredith goes further than many in stitching her response to this ever-popular music right into the weave of the original score. Using the tonal palette of the 21st-century composer, she offers a haunting and powerful commentary not just on Vivaldi’s concertos, but also on the passing of time throughout the year. And her modern language, though strangely similar in many ways to Vivaldi’s, provokes the Scottish Ensemble to play with thrilling immediacy. Here are two composers, 300 years apart, striking sparks off each other.

We hear the avant-garde composer’s antic voice here and there on her interpretation of Vivaldi’s masterpiece. If it’s not a mind meld, it’s at least as fun as a Face Swap filter on Instagram.

ANNO is a collection that casts Vivaldi in a new light while cementing Meredith’s place as a constantly startling and boundary-breaking contemporary composer.