Marianna

Nach der ersten CD "Il primo amore" mit Frühwerken von Marianna Martines (1744-1812), die von der Presse als "interpretatorische Delikatesse" (Rondo) gelobt wurde, hat die Cembalistin Nicholeta Paraschivescu mit dem Ensemble La Floridiana und der Mezzosopranistin Anna Bonitatibus nun drei späte Kantaten, ein Cembalokonzert sowie eine Sonate dieser herausragenden Komponistin des 18. Jahrhunderts aufgenommen, darunter drei Weltersteinspielungen.

Baroque music is not the usual province of soprano Anna Netrebko, or contralto Marianna Pizzolato, or conductor Antonio Pappano, or the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma, so the listener might approach this tribute to the 300th anniversary of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi with some skepticism, but the performers do a terrific job. The orchestra uses modern instruments, so this is never going to be mistaken for a recording by Baroque specialists, but everyone involved approaches the challenge with such sensitivity and such evident excitement that listeners who don't demand absolute adherence to cutting-edge developments in early music practice are likely to be swept up.

With the number of Vivaldi concerto recordings flooding the market, what is a starter CD-buyer to do? How can he or she make a choice? Perhaps if a reviewer has any function at all, it is to steer the prospective purchaser in the right direction. If you like period instruments, the new disc with Giorgio Sasso might be a candidate for an ideal one-CD Vivaldi choice.