Summer, Presto
About this arrangement
Summer is the second concerto in The Four Seasons, published in Amsterdam in 1725. Its sonnet ends with thunder and hail flattening the crops, and this last movement is that storm. The repeated notes and rushing scales are Vivaldi's picture of the weather.
Almost every bar is sixteenth notes, so speed comes last. Loop two bars at a time at half tempo with fixed fingering, and only raise the tempo when the notes are even.
Start with short loops.
Use the section list as a practice map. Start at 50% tempo, loop one section, then return to the full piece once the hand shape feels stable.
Choose Right or Left to focus on one hand. Wait for note checks the highlighted notes as you play them on the screen or a connected MIDI keyboard.
Before you practice.
01 How hard is Vivaldi Summer on piano?
It is advanced. The music is almost all fast sixteenth notes for both hands, and it needs steady control at a high tempo.
02 How long is this arrangement?
It is 128 bars in 3/4 time.
03 What should I practice first?
Short sections of the running passages, hands separately and slowly. Use the loop to repeat two bars until the fingering feels automatic.
04 What does the Presto describe?
A summer storm. The sonnet printed with the concerto ends with thunder, lightning and hail destroying the crops.
