Liszt Ference Chanber Orchestra Vivaldi

Here is Vivaldi-playing with a commendably light, athletic touch. It's so easy to make a meal out of his orchestral tuttis yet these performances inspire the music with expressive delicacy and rhythmic vitality. The programme is a colourful one of concertos for a variety of instruments, wind and strings, in various combinations.

Renowned, American born violinist & conductor, Yehudi Menuhin was a vegetarian and committed supporter of many social and environmental causes, with a great interest in Yoga and eastern religion. He was considered one of the greatest violinist of all time and this EMI recording of "Violin Voncertos by Vivaldi" is an excellent introduction to his work Performed by the Polish Chamber Orchestra.

Teresa Berganza Vargas is a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with the roles of Rossini, Mozart, and Bizet. She is admired for her technical virtuosity, musical intelligence, and beguiling stage presence.

Andromeda Liberata is a serenata, or two-part ceremonial cantata with a hint of allegorical storyline, given in Venice on September 18, 1726, in honor of visiting Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. Most early eighteenth century works of this type are so courtly, genteel, and refined that often their common destiny is to languish and gather dust on the shelves of some archive rather than be promoted and performed. Andromeda Liberata is an exception in that parts of it are traceable to the pen of one Antonio Vivaldi, whose varied and outstanding contribution to other types of works, including opera, are well noted elsewhere. Vivaldi, however, is not solely responsible for the score; although the musicological jury is still out on many sections contained within Andromeda Liberata, among the suspect roster may be found other prominent names (Tomaso Albinoni, Nicola Porpora, and Antonio Lotti) and some lesser ones (Giovanni Porta and Antonino Biffi).

Recording Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, aside from playing the notes, is no easy task. What is the most important aspect? For the musical effects and ideas that Vivaldi enveloped in the notation to find their way to the minds of today’s audiences, creating the same forceful effect as in the eighteenth century.

This EMI release of The Four Seasons gives violinist Sarah Chang top billing (as would be expected) and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra a smaller, less significant listing. As far as the quality of performance goes, however, Orpheus should absolutely be considered the star of this recording with Chang getting the footnote instead. This is simply not the case; from the ridiculously posed glamour photos filling the liner notes to the balance of the performance itself, this album is all about Chang. The most fulfilling aspects are the orchestral tuttis. Orpheus is truly at its best here, playing with as much energy and passion as the much ballyhooed recording with the Venice Baroque Orchestra.

Avi Avital re-imagines the sounds of Venice in this vivid homage to the most beloved composer of the Italian Baroque, Antonio Vivaldi. After his introduction with BACH and the colorful, contrasting exploration of world music on BETWEEN WORLDS, on this album Avi presents four popular Vivaldi concerti with the great Venice Baroque Orchestra: Vivaldi’s Mandolin Concerto, the Lute Concerto (with its famous second movement), “Summer” from the Four Seasons, and the A minor Violin Concerto (familiar to violin students everywhere).

“Citterio’s affinity for Vivaldi has become very clear in her short time with Tafelmusik. Her splendid playing always delights. Yet it is in her invitational style of leadership that she brings the orchestra to perform with precision, joy and sparkling musicality.” A landmark Tafelmusik recording, Vivaldi con amore is the orchestra’s first with Music Director Elisa Citterio. This all-Vivaldi album showcases Citterio and members of the orchestra in concertos for violin, oboe, bassoon, and lute, underlining the level of virtuosity across the ensemble.

Amor profano is the follow-up project to the spectacular album Amor sacro that the soprano Simone Kermes recorded with Andrea Marcon and his Venice Baroque Orchestra. Amor sacro received rave critical reviews, with The San Francisco Chronicle hailing, "soprano Simone Kermes leads the way in this choice performance of four sacred motets by Vivaldi…another exemplary Vivaldi excavation" and the Star Ledger proclaiming, "Kermes brings Vivaldi's heart-easing lyricism alive with far richer expressivity…Kermes looks to be a real vocal star."