With the support of the Italian Embassy in Russia
“At the dawn of the world on a high Crimean mountain lived there four elements: Wind, Earth, Water and Fire. There were no people on the Crimean land back then. Only century-old oaks were growing along river valleys and huge pines were climbing the slopes of gorges. Yes, fast rivers were rushing in the canyons and fearsome waves were breaking on the sea cliffs. The four elements were the ultimate masters of the world. Sometimes they would look over their domains, and descend from the top of the sacred mountain to the valleys and the seashore. They blew in hurricane winds, beat huge waves and were hurled in torrential downpours. They rumbled with earthquakes, they lit up the world with lightning…”
So begins the narration of an ancient legend about the four elements at the heart of the universe. The idea, which comes from the depths of time, has survived to this day – and still excites philosophers, poets and musicians…
The new programme of the world-famous Italian ensemble Il Giardino Armonico will be focused on the music of Antonio Vivaldi, who created the standard of the Baroque era instrumental concerto. However, it is not the “Four seasons” that are the leitmotif of the concerto, but the images of Fire and Water, Earth and Air that are captured in the music. The vivid imagery of Vivaldi’s music inspired contemporaries and followers; but in the era of postmodernism it can also provoke the composer into “creative competition”. And so the violin is organically combined with the Korean flute, the medieval shawm with the recorder, and Vivaldi’s symphonies, concertos and vocal music with works by Handel, Locatelli, the twentieth-century German-Korean composer Isang Yun and the contemporary Italian composer and cellist Giovanni Sollima.
