JR premiers 'Summers' by A. Vivaldi & A. Piazzolla

Jacob has just premiered ‘Summer’ by A.Vivaldi followed by ‘Summer’ by A. Piazzolla with the Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble and conductor Barak Tal. Both peaces, originally written for violin have been transposed and for the first time performed together on a mandolin.

Astor Piazzolla was a 20th Century Argentinian composer who has written 'The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires' inspired by A. Vivaldi’s 'Four Seasons'. Piazzolla’s ‘Four Seasons’ maintain similar structure to Vivaldi’s Baroque concertos as well as solo violin virtuosic performances within orchestra texture. Piazzolla’s Summer blends this Baroque influence with the vigorous, rhythmic tango creating an extraordinary peace.

Piazzolla was a Bandoneon player and his music was a mix of elements from a variety of genres: classical, folk, and jazz, among others. Given the complexity of his style, transcription for mandolin was far from simple, yet, the traditional use of mandolin in folk music makes the peace sound natural and familiar.
Playing Vivaldi’s and Piazzolla’s 'Summers' side by side fully exposes two faces of mandolin- the folk and the classical.