On 6 March 2026 Anna Meredith’s Anno makes its Australian debut with the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. Sophie Rowell is soloist in the 50-minute re-contextualisation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for violin, strings, harpsichord, and electronics, with the composer herself at the mixing desk. The multimedia presentation of the piece features video and designs by Eleanor Meredith: a series of sixteen films that explore the concept of experiencing a year within an hour.
The 2016 piece draws on movements omitted from Vivaldi’s original, whilst also editing and re-naming performance directions in his score. Meredith overlays and surrounds this music with her own electronic compositions and soundscapes. Listen to the Scottish Ensemble recording of Anno here.
The creation of the piece by Scottish Ensemble and Spitalfields Festival in 2016 was captured in a short documentary available to watch online. In October 2025 Scottish Ensemble premiere and tour a series of new arrangements for strings of tracks from Meredith’s albums Nuc and Varmints, accompanied by bespoke projections by animator Ewan Jones Morris (commissioned by Ligeti Quartet).
A 2023 performance of the work at the Cheltenham Festival saw the stage adorned by a foliage installation by Leaf Creative adding to the visual drama. Excerpts from Anno have also been choreographed by Elisabeth Schilling as part of Florescence in Decay at the Grand Théâtre Luxembourg; it also featured in Katie Mitchell’s lockdown project A New Dark Age for the Royal Opera House in 2020.
Its other exponents have included Aurora Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; it has appeared at the Cheltenham Festival and Edinburgh International Festival, and in March 2025 made its South Korean debut at the Tongyeong International Music Festival with B’Rock Orchestra.