VSO to present another holiday staple

As one of the holiday season's timeless classics, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons will get a new interpretation this year as violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch will lead the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) in the piece, as well as chamber works by Purcell and Handel. The concerts take place on December 18th and 19th at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts and Massey Theatre in New Westminster on December 21st.

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is one of the most popular works ever written and is one Vivaldi’s most enduring works, probably due both to their exceptional quality and the programmatic, or descriptive, nature of the music. Vivaldi made pioneering efforts in the area of descriptive composition, and was explicit to a greater degree than any of his other compositions in terms of his elaborate description of what the music portrays. The Four Seasons has become an iconic work, standing alongside the likes of Beethoven’s 9th, as some the most recognized and popular classical music ever written.

Elizabeth Wallfisch is in demand world-wide as a soloist on both modern and period instruments, and as leader directing from her instrument. Her playing has taken her from the Lincoln Center in New York, where she led the Orchestra of the Enlightenment in the opening concert of the 2003 Handel Festival, to Zimbabwe, where she appeared as soloist with the Harare Symphony Orchestra. Libby - as she is universally known - proves herself time and again as a favourite with both audiences and orchestras because of her superb instrumental abilities, her generous and sparkling personality and her impeccable musicianship.

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra - Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
Friday and Saturday, December 18 and 19, 8pm - Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC
Monday, December 21, 7:30pm - Massey Theatre, New Westminster

Wonderful violinist and Baroque conductor Elizabeth Wallfisch leads from the violin in a program that includes Bach’s deliciously beautiful Concerto for Oboe d’amore – with VSO Principal Oboist Roger Cole taking a solo turn – and Vivaldi’s timeless classic The Four Seasons, which has stayed on the top of the charts for over two hundred and eighty years.

Tickets for December 18th & 19th: $35 - $62.50
Tickets for December 21st: $28 - $37
Tickets available online at www.vancouversymphony.ca or by calling VSO customer service at 604.876.3434