EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Te l : +44 (0)117 300 8752 Email: music@classica l-music.com Post: The Editor, BBC Music Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST SUBSCRIPTIONS & BACK ISSUES Te l : 03330 162112; 01604 973720 Web: ourmediashop.com/contactus Post: BBC Music Magazine, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton, NN4 7BF Follow us on Twitter @musicmagazine Like us on Facebook facebook.com/ classicalmagazine Find us online classical-music.com Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe today to BBC Music Magazine Save money on newsstand prices! See p10 for our fanta st ic of fe r We l c om e There can be few works as wholly part of daily life as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. On hold to your internet provider… navigating the supermarket aisles… and I can’t tell you the number of times my string quartet has performed ‘Spring’ at a wedding reception. Today, the Seasons i s as familiar as any song by Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran, but Vivaldi’s programmatic tribute to Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter was just one of many successful works for the composer at the time of its publication 300 years ago. And, as Nicholas Kenyon explains on page 24, for much of its history, the work languished in relative obscurity, only really f inding its audience in the 20th century, as tastes, attention spans and a certain Nigel Kennedy provided the perfect conf luence of events for its triumphant return. If the Seasons i s one of t he earl ies t examples of musica l narrative, opera was telling stories for more than a century prior – but here, words were key. It ’s astonishing, then, that we still so rarely acknowledge the role of the librettist. And, as Jessica Duchen explains on page 44, the relationship between composer and wordsmith has been responsible for some of the greatest triumphs – and near misses – in stage history. On page 48, I meet a truly collaborative composerlibrettist team, while on page 23, Richard Morrison charts some of the less successful efforts of years gone by. Charlotte Smith Editor THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS Nicholas Kenyon Former Radio 3 controller ‘It was a huge pleasure rediscovering Vivaldi’s Seasons, exploring how their reputation grew so rapidly from quite late in the early music revival. Now they are a worldwide phenomenon in their 300th year!’ Page 24 Jessica Duchen Journalist, author and librettist ‘Where would opera composers be without their librettists? From stor y structure to open vowels, every thing rests on a friendly wordsmith. Having written a few, I love the process… and had some fun looking at the best of the rest.’ Page 44 Terry Williams Writer and artist ‘“Not as good as the Pastoral”, was my verdict on hearing Beethoven’s Four th Symphony as a 12 year-old. Disappointment, however, has since bloomed into a musical love affair, and for sheer joie - de-vivre, the Four th has few peers.’ Page 66 BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE 3