Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Christian Li & Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 1 in E Major, RV 269 "Spring":
• 1 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 1 in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": I. Allegro 03:18
• 2 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 1 in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": II. Largo e pianissimo sempre 02:35
• 3 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 1 in E Major, RV 269 "Spring": III. Allegro 03:45
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer":
• 4 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer": I. Allegro non molto 06:06
• 5 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer": II. Adagio - Presto 02:31
• 6 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 315 "Summer": III. Presto 02:37
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 3 in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn":
• 7 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 3 in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn": I. Allegro 05:10
• 8 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 3 in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn": II. Adagio 02:25
• 9 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 3 in F Major, RV 293 "Autumn": III. Allegro 03:26
• The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter":
• 10 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter": I. Allegro non molto 03:15
• 11 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter": II. Largo 02:10
• 12 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, RV 297 "Winter": III. Allegro 03:20
• Li Zili (b. 1938): Fisherman's Harvest Song:
• 13 Li: Fisherman's Harvest Song 06:36
• Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962): Tambourin Chinois, Op. 3:
• 14 Kreisler: Tambourin Chinois, Op. 3 03:49
• Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912): Thaïs:
• 15 Massenet: Thaïs: Méditation (Arr. R. Nichols for Violin and Piano) 05:59
• Antonio Bazzini (1818 - 1897): La ronde des Lutins:
• 16 Bazzini: La ronde des Lutins 05:13
• Total Runtime 01:02:15

Info for Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Australian-Chinese wunderkind Christian Li became the youngest ever First Prize winner at the Menuhin Competition in 2018. Now he becomes the youngest ever artist to record Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, as he presents his debut album at the age of 13, play-directing a chamber ensemble from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The album also includes a traditional folk tune inspired by the fishermen's' harvest in the South China Sea and adapted by contemporary Chinese composer Li Zili.

Born in Melbourne in 2007, Christian is an incredible role model for young people. He first picked up a violin at just five years old and came to international attention in 2018 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the Menuhin Competition, winning the joint Junior 1st Prize in Geneva, aged only ten – his performance of Vivaldi’s ‘Summer’ has since achieved 1.7 million views on YouTube.

Published in 1725, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is a special work for Christian, who says, “It’s dramatic, warm and poetic. I can use the music to tell the poems’ storylines, and it was playing ‘Summer’ that I won the Menuhin Competition when I was ten, which I really didn’t expect!”

Christian’s favourite movement is ‘Autumn’, particularly its final movement: “It has lots of action and excitement. The music depicts hunters on horseback chasing down a stag. You can hear horns, you can hear dogs, you can hear guns firing, and all of these effects are made on the instruments.”’

Other works on the album include ‘Fisherman’s Harvest Song’, a traditional folk tune inspired by the fishermen’s harvest in the South China Sea and adapted by contemporary Chinese composer Li Zili.

Christian says, “This is actually the first Chinese piece that I’ve played. To really understand the piece, I went to China to work with a violinist who was a student of the composer. It’s very expressive, with lots of glissandi (slides between notes) reminiscent of the erhu, which is like a Chinese violin, but played vertically like a cello. Erhu players have to slide a lot because there are only two strings, meaning you often can’t just switch strings to find a new note. There’s more shifting of position”.

Bazzini’s ‘La Ronde des Lutins’, a notoriously fiendish work for violin and piano, brims with technical complexities designed to show off the instrument to its full advantage. Other violinists who have recorded this work include Itzhak Perlman, Christian’s hero Maxim Vengerov and Yehudi Menuhin, three world-famous artists.

At the age of nine, Christian won First Prize in the violin category of the Young Artist Semper Music International Competition in Italy and gave many solo and chamber music performances as part of the Semper Music International Festival and Summer Academy. He also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in the American Protégé Showcase 10th Anniversary concert. In 2014 he won First Prize in the “Golden Beijing” violin competition in China and in 2013, aged just five, Christian was chosen for a TV commercial in China that features him playing the violin.

Christian Li, violin
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Christian Li
has captivated audiences around the world with his maturity and virtuosity since he became the youngest-ever joint Junior 1st Prize-winner of the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition at the age of 10. Performing with the Geneva Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, he also received the Audience Prize and the Composer Award. In 2020 he became the youngest artist ever to sign with Decca Classics and joined the exclusive roster of IMG Artists.

Born in Melbourne Australia in 2007, Christian began learning the violin at the age of 5 and made his solo debut at the age of 9 with the Australasian Orchestra and his professional concerto debut at 10, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Orchestra Victoria. In 2019 he made acclaimed debuts with the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra an gave highly successful debut UK recitals at the Gower, Harrogate International and Cheltenham Music Festivals. Christian also performed at Festivals in Norway and Israel, including a televised performance at the Tel Aviv Opera House.

Previously, at the age of 9, Christian won First Prize in the violin category of the 2017 Young Artist Semper Music International Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in the American Protégé Showcase 10-year Anniversary concert. In 2014 he won First Prize in the ‘Golden Beijing’ violin competition in China and in 2013 was chosen for a TV commercial in China that features him playing the violin.

Christian performs on the 1737 ex-Paulsen Guarneri del Gesù violin, on loan from a generous benefactor and uses a bow by François Peccatte. He studies under Dr. Robin Wilson, Head of Violin at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. Christian also enjoys reading, swimming and bike riding.

This album contains no booklet.