Eight seasons

It cost me a gig but it was a worthy substitute.  This was the strings from the Canberra Symphony Orchestra directed by concertmaster (sic) Kristen Williams playing the famous Vivaldi Four Seasons interleaved with Piazzolla's response.  We all know various of the themes from Vivaldi and if I heard right, the Piazzolla was a direct response to Vivaldi and anyway we know the popular tango-styled Piazzolla tunes out of Buenos Aires.  It was a popular program and obviously considered apt for lots of young ones, although the ones near us didn't seem particularly interested, but so be it.  It's good to get them along and they were old enough just to fidget rather than cry.  I was surprised that each Vivaldi season had 3 movements.  I should have known, but I wasn't the only one, with the first movement of each season getting a good applause. It was usually the feature movement anyway.  The playing was lovely, rich and full and unusually big.  This was the strings of the CSO so I guess there were more players who would normally play this piece, certainly more than baroque groups usually sport, like AHE or ACO.  I counted 8xvln1, 6xvln2, 5xvla, 4xclo, 2xbs, plus the director-cum-soloist on violin, so it was a big sound and it neatly filled Llewellyn, which can be cavernous for smaller groups.  I enjoyed the playing and was convinced by the take the Piazzolla.  CSO is doing plenty of varied programs now.  I guess this is the first strings section that I know of.  BTW, two basses on stage even if only one in the program, Kyle and Emma.

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra strings played Four seasons by Vivaldi and Piazzolla at Llewellyn under Kristen Williams (violin solo, director).  Low enders were Kyle Ramsey-Daniel and Emma Meixner (basses).