Antonio Vivaldi's Op. 4 consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes many melodic flights, and much figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. The ensemble starts off this concerto's opening Spiritoso movement with a motivically driven ritornello that features several unexpected melodic turns and a lively and animated mood that goes against the anticipated atmosphere of its minor modality. The soloist makes a proclamatory entrance into his first solo break, while the continuo sometimes imitates his gestures. The continuo supports the second solo passage with a line that is motivically related but not imitative, and both continuo and the full ensemble support the soloist in outings three and four. The subsequent Adagio follows without a break. Here sustained chordal passages from the ensemble frame a pensive and concerned cantilena that the soloist presents over support from the continuo. The ensemble gives out an earnest ritornello at the beginning of the concluding Allegro, and the soloist subsequently holds forth in four figurally driven solo passages.

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No.1 in Bb, RV383a

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. The ensemble begins this concerto's opening Allegro with a happy and motoric theme that emphasizes triadic motifs. The solo outings seem to begin in mid-phrase and often feature figurally driven passagework. In the first three of the movement's four solo sections (all of which move over a discreet accompaniments) a violinist from the ensemble joins the official soloist in the spotlight. The subsequent Largo extends the first movement's happiness into a more contemplative shade through a solo cantilena that begins immediately and proceeds over a discrete accompaniment from the full ensemble. Another happy and vivacious tutti starts off the concluding Allegro, a movement rich with unexpected melodic turns. This tutti is unusually expansive, and the movement features only a single solo outing which emerges late in the going and features figural passage work over accompaniment from the basso continuo.

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No.2 in E-, RV279

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus IV consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo grouped under the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza), owing to Vivaldi's use of unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists. The second concerto in the set is in the rock & roll key of E minor, and its opening Allegro carries on with a strongly rhythmic and intently industrious feel. The opening tutti moves forward with a motoric drive during which the ensemble's two groups of violins often engage in a dialogue. The solo violin enters with figural passagework, and behind that the violins and violas mark repeated chords, with the second tutti raising its voice suddenly at one point.

In the second movement Largo, sustained harmony in the ensemble frames an introspective and lyrical cantilena that the soloist projects over a discreet accompaniment. The concluding Allegro returns to the industrious mood of the first movement, but with a renewed sense of dark, stormy fierceness. Groups of strings talk to one another as in the opening tutti, and a triplet-driven motif arises suddenly and puts an unexpected spin on the proceedings. These combined elements drive the work toward its conclusion.

Vivaldi was reputedly proud of his flaming red hair and virtuoso skill with the violin; this concerto, more than most others, seems designed in particular to impress the ladies. With its virile, driving first movement, meltingly lyrical second, and dazzling third movement, Vivaldi's E minor Concerto from La Stravaganza is an exemplification ofs the allure his music held for early eighteenth century Italian audiences, and to some degree reveals something about Vivaldi's own cocky, seductive personality.

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No.3 in G, RV301

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. This concerto's opening Allegro starts with a happy tutti passage that doesn't seem to know or care where it's going. The first solo outing proceeds over discreet tutti punctuations, the second features figural passagework over the basso continuo, and the third initially proceeds over the continuo before moving on to some sequential passagework over discreet tutti chords. The ensemble frequently breaks in to the soloist's fourth solo outing. In the subsequent Largo a brief siciliano for the ensemble frames an intricate and lazily lyrical solo cantilena that the ensemble's violins and violas discreetly accompany. The concluding Allegro assai features many unexpected turns of melody, rhythm, harmony, and mode. Its opening tutti features a bright and rhythmically driven idea, a lyrical glide, and some intriguing hemiolas. The solo violin enters as if in mid-phrase in several of its four solo outings which mostly feature figural passagework.

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No.4 in A-, RV357

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. This concerto is earnest in tone from start to finish. The ensemble begins its opening Allegro with a no-nonsense theme that prominently features octave skips, and the soloist enters with an equal measure of resolute focus which it carries through the unpredictable turns of some passagework that features some intriguing repetition of ideas. The continuo accompanies the soloist in the first four of its five solo outings—the tutti interrupts the first of these passages, and a violinist from the ensemble joins the official soloist in the second. The solo statements in the fifth outing are unaccompanied and the ensemble answers them unisonally. The Grave that follows is a cantilena which the soloist begins almost immediately over light accompaniment from the ensemble's violins and violas. The movement's contemplative disposition and sometimes painful realizations inform much of its harmony. The concluding Allegro also begins in a serious mood, and the sections of the ensemble explore figural exchanges among themselves. The continuo alone accompanies all four solo episodes. The soloist extends the tutti's mood in the first episode, brightens it in the second, and regains the opening earnestness (that persists to the end) in the third and fourth. One of the ensemble's violinists joins the official soloist in the spotlight midway through the first solo outing.

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No.5 in A, RV347

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. The ensemble begins this concerto's earnestly happy Allegro, and the first solo episode emerges from one if its figural passages. The movement's solo outings, all of which move forward over accompaniment from the basso continuo, are mostly figural in nature. The soloist presents a contentedly musing solo cantilena over discreet continuo accompaniment in the subsequent Largo. The concluding Allegro starts with an earnestly happy ritornello that features some intriguing repetitions of motifs and unusual harmony before proceeding to some equally happy solo outings that hold forth with figurally driven material.

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No.6 in G-, RV316a

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. The ensemble begins this concerto's opening Allegro with and earnest ritornello that features a rhythmically driven idea followed by a bit of sustained lyricism. The continuo sometimes imitates the violin in the first solo outing (which eventually shades into figural passage work), and all of the remaining solo outings are all figurally driven. In the subsequent Largo the soloist presents a concerned cantilena over a continuo accompaniment that features some intriguing melodic and harmonic turns, and the ensemble provides an interlude and a postlude in sustained chords. The ensemble begins the concluding Allegro with an earnest rhythmically driven ritornello that features some unusual harmonic progressions. The soloist first extends the mood of earnestness over accompaniment from the continuo and then proceeds to an airy figural passage that sails over the violins in the ensemble. The remaining three solo outings feature figural passagework for the soloist over punctuations from the continuo.

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No.8 in D-, RV249

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. This concerto, cast in two official movements, is the most unorthodoxly organized of the collection. There is no initial ritornello. The soloist glides starts off the opening Allegro with a gliding solo passage that moves over accompaniment from the continuo. Eventually the ensemble comes in and punctuates the solo discourse on several occasions with interludes. A half-cadence in a single-measure Adagio leads to a Presto that features figural solo lines and chordal support and interludes from the tutti, and another half-cadence leads to a transitional Adagio that features sustained chords for the tutti that move through many unexpected harmonic turns and clashes. The tutti begins the concluding Allegro with a stately dancing idea, and the soloist enters and intersperses its material with elegant figural passagework. The continuo alone accompanies all of the solo outings, and the work's minor modality adds a touch of earnestness to the work's atmosphere.

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No.9 in F, RV284

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. The ensemble starts off the opening Allegro with a confidently striding ritornello. The first solo passage (that features a violinist from the ensemble along with the official soloist) emerges without a clear break into figural passagework over accompaniment from the continuo. The continuo accompanies the first three solo outings by itself, and the full ensemble accompanies the fourth. In the subsequent Largo the soloist presents a concerned cantilena (with solo lines built out of short phrases) that begins almost immediately with discreet dotted-rhythmed support from the ensemble. High and low groups of strings seem to answer each other in the confident and extroverted ritornello that starts off the Allegro finale. The solo violin enters with a figural line over continuo and draws material from the ritornello in a later solo break.

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No.11 in D, RV204

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. Two solo violins begin this concerto's opening Allegro with a passage that extensively explores its tonic triad. The ensemble eventually comes in with a straightforward and often sequential idea. The two solo violinists often trade phrases in the solo outings, the last of which features some punctuating interjections from the ensemble before the final tutti brings the movement to a close. A single soloist presents a pensive cantilena over a walking continuo accompaniment in the subsequent Largo, and the concluding Allegro assai features a straightforwardly happy ritornello and solo passages (for one violin only) that further its jaunting feel and joyous tone.

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No.12 in G, RV298

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus Four consists of a collection of a dozen concertos for violin, string orchestra, and basso continuo. Owing to some unusual and sometimes daring melodic and harmonic twists it carries the title La Stravaganza (The Extravaganza). The solo music includes a lot of melodic cantabile flights and also a lot of figural passagework that often rises to a virtuosic level. The ensemble starts off the opening Spiritoso e non presto with some proclamatory tutti chords that give way to a reserved motivically-driven theme. The solo pronouncements, which the continuo and the other instruments in the ensemble discreetly accompany, start out with a reserved quality of their own and move on to more outspoken matters. The subsequent Largo tries to come to terms with some serious emotional matters through intellectual means. The ensemble starts with a dotted-rhythmed figure and some arpeggio-based lines that underline a chaconne in which the soloist presents figures that are by turns simple and by turns elaborate. The soloist begins the concluding Allegro with an elaborate figural solo passage, and the ensemble comes in in due time with some punctuating interludes and two full-scale ritornelli. Apart from some discreet contributions from the ensemble's violins in some parts of the last solo passage the continuo accompanies all of the solo outings by itself. The last section of this movement recalls the structure of its first, and the full ensemble has last word.

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