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To mark the night of the winter solstice, Elizabeth Alker presents the first broadcast of a live performance of Max Richter's Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, recorded especially for Unclassified in July at Bluedot festival, Cheshire. With virtuoso solo violinist Mari Samuelsen at the helm, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra are led through iconic musical evocations of spring and summer and autumn to arrive at winter.

Both Richter and his Baroque inspiration share a love of patterns and motivic repetition. Remembering the process involved in creating Recomposed as a conversation between himself and Vivaldi, Richter talks about how he would be constantly "suggesting" things to the original score: "It's a series of little experiments. I say, 'What about this?' The music then starts to tell you whether it works or not. I see that as Vivaldi. He's saying, "No, forget about that. Do it like this!'"

Produced by Katie Callin
A Reduced Listening production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3