Vivaldi Sonata

Amid the sea of compositions Antonio Vivaldi left for the violin, the Red Priest was also gracious enough to enhance the cellist's repertoire with a nice assortment of concertos and even a handful of sonatas with basso continuo. These works, while satisfying and pleasing, are far from virtuoso works and as such have often been relegated to serve as teaching pieces for high school and college students. In the right hands, however, these nine sonatas can still engage and excite listeners. Cellist Jaap ter Linden would seem to be ideally suited for this task. His distinguished career includes cello performances with many of the world's top Baroque orchestras, as well taking on conducting duties with the same.

Vivaldi’s lively and engaging earlier works need virtuoso playing – and here receive it… Like most composers of his time, Vivaldi began his publishing career with sonatas. His sonatas, although just as strongly marked by his distinctive musical personality, are played much less today than his admittedly more numerous concertos. The six here, not in fact from the published sets, are utterly unlike the familiar Corelli sonata model: no serene, rationally worked-out counterpoint, but brilliant violinistic gestures and capricious changes of texture, pace and mood…What they need is two violinists who are lively virtuosos, able to imitate each other closely, match exactly in articulation (or inexactly, if they choose) and frolic happily in thirds or sixths high on the E string (as required a good deal in the finales of RV68 and 70). Certainly that’s what they get here.

10 CDs performed by outstanding artists such as Sigiswald Kuijken, Andreas Staier, Michael Schneider, Skip Sempé, Thomas Hengelbrock, Freiburger Barockorchester, Collegium Aureum, Camerata Köln, La Petite Bande, Capriccio Stravagante and more.

Fire Beneath My Fingers tells a fascinating story of great performers and performances! This program showcases Antonio Vivaldi, Guiseppe Sammartini, and Guiseppe Tartini; three of the most legendary composers of this era who were also virtuoso performers in their own rights.

Maurice Gendron (December 26, 1920, near Nice – August 20, 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cellist and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the twentieth century.
He recorded most of the standard concerto repertoire with conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Raymond Leppard, and Pablo Casals, and with orchestras such as the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Il Giardino Armonico, founded in Milan in 1985, brings together a number of graduates from some of Europe’s leading colleges of music, all of whom have specialised in playing on period instruments. Many of its members are also in demand as international soloists and have appeared in concert with such eminent artists as N. Harnoncourt, G. Leonhardt, T. Pinnock, Ch. Coin and J. Savall. The ensemble’s repertory is concentrated in the main on the 17th and 18th centuries. Depending on the demands of each programme, the group will consist of anything from 3 to 30 musicians…

2009 Marks The 111th Anniversary Of Deutsche Grammophon. Over 11 Decades, The Label's Philosophy Has Always Been 'The Greatest Recordings By The Greatest Artists In The World' And Now They Showcase This With This Incredible 55 Cd Box Set. This Unique Collection Forms Dg's Major Release In Its 111th Anniversary Celebrations. The Limited Edition Box Set Gathers Together Many Landmark Recordings, From The Past To The Present. Most Of Them Appear Complete, As Originally Programmed, In Their Original Cover Art And Several Include Additional Material.