Musical inspiration can be found anywhere in life, even just the seasons! "Classical Music" is an umbrella term which covers many different style eras. Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky lived 100 years apart - musical writing style developed greatly over this time. See if you can spot any differences in the basic elements of music such as the rhythm and the melodic shape.

1) A. Vivaldi, Spring from The Four Seasons

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons consists of 4 concerti for the 4 seasons of the year. A concerto is a piece written for a soloist and orchestra. Often when you see a pianist with an orchestra, they are performing a concerto! This is a violin concerto and there is no piano in the music!

2) P. Tchaikovsky, June from The Seasons

Tchaikovsky's The Seasons consists of 12 pieces for every month of the year. June is a popular piece which you can find being played by other instruments! I particularly enjoy orchestral arrangements of this piece.

Questions

Name some differences in the style of each piece. Think of the basic elements that make up music (rhythm and melodic shape/the shape of the melody)
Can you name any other elements of music?
What name would you give to these different styles? There is an actual name for the style period of these composers. Find out at your next lesson!