Vivaldi Greatest

Claudio Scimone once again conducts the extraordinary I Solisti Veneti enssemble, playing one of Vivaldi's more cheerful concertos for mandolin. When you listen to this recording you can dream of being walking through several small streets of Venice, feeling its characteristic humidity and the flavor of that fabulous historical city.

LA VOIX DES RÊVES - Greatest Moments in Concert” (available on DVD & Blu Ray) features video footage from a number of occasions and venues – including items from a concert given among the crystal chandeliers of the splendid Galerie des Glaces in the palace of Versailles, and works by Handel and Vivaldi performed in another jewel of French Baroque architecture, the sumptuously decorated Chapelle de la Trinité in Lyon.

The artistry of Holliger (b1939) prompted Evelyn Rothwell (Lady Barbirolli) to call him 'The Paganini of the oboe' Holliger's mastery of the oboe ranges over a vast expanse of repertoire, from the baroque to contemporary – Bach to Berio and Zelenka to Zimmermann. His style is notable for its flexibility, agility, integrity and ability to communicate convincingly across the wide range of repertoire he performs. Holliger has done much to champion the oboe music of composers such as Zelenka and Krommer, and has also had over 100 works composed for him by composers including Berio, Carter, Henze, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Penderecki and Stockhausen.

The recorder only features in a handful of Vivaldi’s concertos. Well known for being an exceptional violinist, Vivaldi’s innovative style is apparent in his compositions for other instruments too. He used the same technique as when he composed for the violin, using a musical language marked by gigantic tonal ranges whether or not they were models for this in their respective repertoire. The result is a concert repertoire that is madly virtuosic and music of the greatest variety. Some could even say his recorder concertos represent the greatest challenge in the baroque repertoire.

Since 2001, beginning with Juditha Triumphans, eight operas by Vivaldi have been released in the Vivaldi Edition, each one an event, either the first complete recording (or the first recording!) by first-rate conductors, soloists and orchestras specializing in Baroque. Acclaimed by the press (numerous awards), and by the public (more than 150,000 copies sold since 2001), these recordings have succeeded at last in rehabilitating Antonio Vivaldi, known always for his brilliant concertos, as one of the greatest operatic composers of all time.