Baroque

Episode number 2 of Series “Orchestra Series”.
Describes the evolution of the modern symphony orchestra from its beginnings in the 17th century to the present. The range and versatility of the orchestra of the early 18th century is shown in the first movement “Winter” of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. Court orchestras gave composers the chance to experiment and soon other instruments, such as the bassoon and the oboe, were added to the string band, making it possible to contrast and balance different instrumental sounds. But it was not until the second half of the 18th century that the symphony really came into its own with the work of Joseph Haydn the “father of the symphony”.