“Something new every moment.” If we are to believe Shunske Sato, leader of Concerto Koln and soloist on this sparkling new release of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” what is at the heart of this recording is the idea of freedom. Freedom, too, in more ways than one. True to the principles of historical performance practice, the ensemble delivers the vitality of spontaneous playing in Vivaldi’s music. Founded in Cologne in 1985 and at home on the great international concert platforms of the world ever since, Concerto Koln has developed a quite unique sound of its own, which is known and admired around the world. A major music magazine once wrote that the ensemble played antique rock and roll- “rousing, raw, and jovial.” The “Four Seasons,” are joined here by two other Vivaldi works, showing other aspects of the composer and rounding out our picture of him: the sad and sorrowful Good Friday music “Al Santo sepolcro” and the Concerto RV 156, which may be the most beautiful concerto Vivaldi ever wrote. This audiophile recording was made in the Paterskirche in Kempen, celebrated for its acoustics. There were no cuts, no stopping and starting, just one take, no compressors or artificial resonance. This recording simply documents an end-to-end performance by musicians at the highest level of concentration. This music sounds so natural and immediate, it’s as if one were hearing it live at a concert.

Vivaldi, A.: Four Seasons (The)

"This recording presents violinist Kati Debretzeni leading the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. From the commanding heat of the Summer sun, to Winter’s foreboding darkness, the power of Vivaldi’s masterpiece is inescapable. The booklet includes a ‘Guided tour of the Four Seasons’, allowing listeners to follow the poetry that inspired Vivaldi as they hear the performances on the disc, including additional composer notes from Vivaldi’s own scores."

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V 2: BEST OF LA CETRA - 6 VIOL

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This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

The six violin concertos offered here are among 30 or so that Vivaldi dedicated to Anna Maria, one of his most gifted pupils who went on to become one of his most important colleagues (she remained on staff at the Ospedale Della Pieta in Venice nearly 70 years until her death at the age of 86). As one would expect given his longstanding admiration of Anna, Vivaldi crafted these remarkably versatile, ravishing concertos not only to showcase the soloist's apparently limitless expressive range and virtuosity, but he also loaded them with endearing personality and wit that often transcend the flash.

For instance, the humorous, "meowing cat" figures that lace the opening Allegro of RV 387 and the third-movement Allegro ma poco of RV 349 must've been as much fun for Anna to perform as they were a pleasure for her audience to listen to. With the equally delightful, extravagant ornamentation heard in the final Allegro of RV 387, opening Allegro of RV 343, and final Allegro of RV 366, you can almost sense Vivaldi's glee not so much in simply challenging Anna, but also taking pride in providing material that fully complemented her imagination and technical abilities. The wild, equally sensational inner movement of RV 248, with its sharply delineated dynamic contrasts and tempo extremes, also is a stunner. If there's another equally short movement that combines this many hyper-tempestuous and pensively quiet moments, I've yet to hear it!

L'Arte dell'Arco and the ensemble's director/violin soloist Federico Guglielmo deliver remarkably convincing, stylistically and technically peerless performances. CPO's SACD sound is quite good, though Guglielmo at times is placed noticeably forward in the mix. Nothing serious. In sum, this is an outstanding recording, strongly recommended, especially to those unfamiliar with the composer's more playful, if not eccentric side.

--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

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Gustavo Nunez currently serves as principal bassoon with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and is considered widely to be one of the greatest bassoonists of his generation. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1965, he began learning bassoon, the instrument that his father is also skilled in, in 1976. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields accompanies Nunez for this recording. They have been called "One of the world's most admired chamber orchestras" (The West Australian) and are said to have "... brooding power, poetic sparkle, dramatic attack" (The Times). Antonio Vivaldi (1687-1741) may be singled out as the pioneer of the bassoon concerto. Used as a basso continuo instrument until the beginning of the 17th century, it's part was rarely written out, much less featured as a solo instrument. In his concertos, Vivaldi uses the full range and all technical possibilities of the instrument. In his career, Vivaldi wrote 37 bassoon concerti.

Recorded at Teatro Comunale, Ferrara, January 2008

Motezuma is Vivaldi’s only opera set in the New World. The manuscripts for this rarely performed and rarely heard opera were only rediscovered in 2002 and currently only one CD version exists recorded by Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco.

Of the CD recording, BBC Music Magazine wrote: “The instrumentalists of Il Complesso Barocco are on excellent form as indeed is Vivaldi himself in a rewarding score”.

Alan Curtis, one of the leading experts of Baroque music, returns again with the same orchestra, renowned Baroque specialist Vito Priante and another expert cast for the World Premiere Recording on DVD.

Region Code: 0 (All)
Sound format: 16:9
Picture format: LPCM 2.0
Running Time: 153 min. + extras
Booklet notes: Ita / Eng / Fre / Ger
Subtitles: Fre, Eng, Ger, Spa, Ita