Had you always dreamed of reclaiming Vivaldi’s Four Seasons from violinists?

DAC: I launched the Salome Chamber Music Festival in the Hamptons a few years ago. For my opening gala concert, I thought it would be interesting to perform all of the Piazzolla and Vivialdi Seasons. At first, I didn't think it would be possible for viola, but after I altered the transcription, I knew immediately that the work could become a staple in the viola repertoire. I feel it is important to always push the limits of one's technique.

What do the qualities and the timbre of the viola bring to the work ?

DAC: When approaching a score and transcription, it's important to think of the texture and sonority your instrument can bring to a piece of music. In this case, the viola combines the best qualities of a violin and cello by utilising a soprano and bass voice. It has allowed me the opportunity to experiment with the sonority and timbre of my instrument. 

How does Piazzolla transform Vivaldi’s themes; what’s special about The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires?

DAC: The juxtaposition of themes intertwined with some of the most beautiful melodies makes the Piazzolla Four Seasons one of most enjoyable pieces to play. Piazzolla also incorporates some of Vivaldi's music into his score; the music transports you from canals of Venice to the tango bars of Buenos Aires.

You premiered a new work for viola based on the seasons. What was the process of working on The Four Seasons of Manhattan like with Alexey Shor? How close a collaboration was it?

Alexey Shor truly is a gifted composer who has a unique and distinct style. The Salomé Chamber Orchestra commissioned his Four Seasons after working on many projects with Alexey, who has written more than 30 works for the orchestra and solo viola. His new take on the Four Seasons of Manhattan is quite remarkable, as the music effortlessly weaves from one movement to the next. It has a more zen feeling than the stereotypical fast-paced New York City.

Do you have a favourite viola joke?

I've never heard one before... ;)

David Aaron Carpenter's new album The Twelve Seasons is out in April 2016.

On his forthcoming album The Twelve Seasons, due out in April, American viola star David Aaron Carpenter gives us Vivaldi's evergreen concertos as never previously heard on disc before, in the rich tones of the viola. From The Four Seasons in Venice, the jet-setting violist takes us to the iconic city of tango with Piazzolla's energetic take on Vivaldi, The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, and then on to New York with the world premiere recording of Alexey Shor's Four Seasons of Manhattan.

David Aaron Carpenter, described as 'the hottest violist of the 21st century' (Arts Journal), is set to release his debut solo album on Warner Classics in April.

There is no shortage of recordings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, but this one really is different. First of all, it is played on the viola, not on the violin – by the New York-born Carpenter. When he made his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in in 2007, the New York Times praised his “seductively rich sound … forceful interpretive personality and remarkable control of his instrument,” and his mentors have included such distinguished musical figures as Pinchas Zukerman, Yuri Bashmet and Christoph Eschenbach.

Secondly, Vivaldi’s ubiquitous Baroque concertos are placed in a new light, since they are programmed alongside modern works inspired by the cycle of spring, summer, autumn and winter: Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires), written between 1965 and 1970 by Argentina’s King of Tango, Astor Piazzola, and A Manhattan Four Seasons by the Ukrainian-American composer Alexey Shor, premiered in 2013. This album represents the first time that the works by Vivaldi and Piazzola have been recorded in a version for viola.

"The genesis of the 12 Seasons project coincided with the formation of the Salomé Chamber Orchestra nearly six years ago," explains Carpenter. "The juxtaposition of the beauty in Vivaldi's Venice with Shor's multifarious energies of Manhattan and finally the rhythmic intensity of Piazzolla's Argentinian tango has created what I hope will be a universally appealing album. 

"Warner Classics is one of the few recording companies that has the vision to promote the viola as a solo instrument, and I am so honoured to have their support and unwavering dedication for my musical journey," Carpenter adds. "It has always been my objective to promote the solo viola repertoire, particularly with works that were originally written for violin."                                            

Alexey Shor wrote his moody, mellow work (no 'Blizzard' bonus track!) in his capacity as composer-in-residence with the Manhattan-based Salomé Chamber Orchestra, which David Aaron Carpenter founded with his violin-playing sister and brother, Lauren and Sean. The orchestra generally plays without a conductor and is therefore headless … hence its striking name, inspired by the biblical princess who demanded the decapitation of John the Baptist.

Carpenter, who turns 30 this year, believes strongly in taking serious music to as wide an audience as possible. He started as a violinist but, as he told The Strad magazine, “couldn’t get the sounds [he] envisioned on the violin," and in the viola "found a whole new range of sonorities”. He also holds a degree in political science from Princeton, is a talented artist, a dynamic businessman and an enthusiastic fundraiser for charity.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons need no introduction. They sparked the imagination of Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), whose Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas is imbued with his characteristic maverick spirit and intoxicating dance rhythms. They are played here in an arrangement made by Leonid Desyatnikov – originally for violin with a string ensemble, but here transferred to viola.

When Alexey Shor wrote A Manhattan Four Seasons, he drew on the emotions evoked in him by the city’s weather, and it so happens that the only movement in a major key is ‘Spring’, which – rather than opening the work – brings it to an optimistic conclusion.

David Aaron Carpenter's album The 12 Seasons appears on Warner Classics in April 2016.