Vivaldi: Concerti Per Fagotto & Oboe / Azzolini, Westermann

Naive continues its ambitious project to record more than 450 Vivaldi manuscripts housed in the National University Library at Turin. Like many of the performances in previous installments, these--three bassoon concertos, two for oboe, and one double concerto for oboe and bassoon--also are characterized by widely contrasting tempos, sharply delineated dynamics, and especially here, a stylish in-your-face approach. From bassoonist Sergio Azzolini's quite audible intake of breath before beginning the Concerto in D minor and continuing throughout this captivating program, rarely have Vivaldi's wind concertos been rendered with such a consistent sense of urgency, vitality, and well, attitude. At no point do you feel that Azzolini, oboist Hans Peter Westermann, and the members of the Italian period-instrument ensemble Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca are less than fully engaged in and passionate about their mission to champion this less-familiar though certainly worthy repertoire.

The double concerto for oboe and bassoon in G major is especially ravishing, featuring a first-movement Andante molto where the soloists' aria-like phrasing sensuously complements the strings, and a spirited final Allegro molto that exploits the combined sonorities of the solo instruments. The opening Allegro from the A minor bassoon concerto (one of Vivaldi's most recognizable themes), with its measured beat and evolving rhythmic structure, also is rendered with uncommon agility and grace.

Many listeners will be familiar with what arguably is the program's most famous work, the Concerto for transverse flute subtitled "la Notte" (the night) RV 104. While there have been many exceptional period-instrument flute performances, listeners who enjoyed Giovanni Antonini and Il Giardino Armonico's groundbreaking, over-the-top extravaganza on Teldec (1991) are immediately directed to this equally animated alternate version. Azzolini's manual dexterity and breath control, especially in the "Fantasmi" and following Presto movements, are absolutely amazing in what must be three of the most virtuosic displays ever written for the instrument.

Naive's sound is crisp, clear, and naturally balanced, and Azzolini and Louis Vatoison's informative, entertaining notes feature many fascinating anecdotes. In sum, this is another outstanding entry in an already important and distinguished series that's guaranteed to delight all fans of the composer.

--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Vivaldi: Concerti Per Archi / Alessandrini, Concerto Italiano
"Gloriously alert and full-bodied playing produces a disc that is just waiting to be enjoyed... The music is unmistakably Vivaldi, of course, but ranges from brilliant violin figuration to creamy slow-drawn chords, and from vocal transcriptions to short fugues (and what enjoyable fugues, too!). The cumulative effect of it all is like visiting a workshop and finding there examples of all the things an artist might do when freed from the demands of a particular public. Concerto Italiano’s performances cannot be faulted. Alessandrini has a knack for vital and exciting music-making that is utterly straightforward and free from overworked mannerism. It is a difficult balance to achieve, but here it is allied to playing that is gloriously alert and full-bodied. This disc is just waiting to be enjoyed, so go on – it might bring you closer to Vivaldi as well!" - Lindsay Kemp, GRAMOPHONE

"Rachel Podger’s wonderful Gramophone Award-winning disc of Vivaldi’s Op 8 concertos, La stravaganza opened many ears to the incredible Vivaldian riches that lay beyond The Four Seasons. Here, to prove that you don’t need a soloist for concertos of striking imagination and vitality, is another in the Vivaldi pilgrimage Naive has undertaken. Entrusted to one of Italy’s finest period-instrument ensembles, Concerto Italiano, and their inspirational director Rinaldo Alessandrini, this disc makes a highly appealing programme of concertos for strings alone from the 59 examples that Vivaldi left. Alessandrini argues that ‘the absence of a pronounced ego allows the composer to concentrate, in richer detail, on purely musical matters’ – a case he fully justifies on this delightful disc". - GRAMOPHONE

Vivaldi: Concerti Per Vari Strumenti / A. Bernardini, Zefiro
Few people nowadays seriously believe Vivaldi wrote the same concerto five hundred times. But the view that there is little variety in Vivaldi's oeuvre is still widely held. Louis T. Vatoison, in the programme notes to this recording, has a strongly different perception: "a Vivaldi concerto must (...) be seen as an individual 'snapshot', whose instrumental layout or formal structure implicitly reveal at what period, and sometimes even for whom it was written". The music on this disc gives ample evidence for this view.

Like his German contemporary Telemann Vivaldi composed for almost any kind of instrument in vogue in his time. Many of these instruments were taught at the Ospedale della Pietà, where Vivaldi worked for many years. The exception is the bassoon, and therefore it is likely the concertos with a solo bassoon part were written for other occasions than to be performed by the girls of the Ospedale.

What one normally expects from a Vivaldi concerto, a clear distinction between ritornelli and solo passages, can be found here in the two concertos for two oboes and two clarinets, which open and end the programme, as well as the two solo concertos, for oboe and bassoon respectively. But the Concerto in d minor (RV 566) is radically different. Here the solo parts and the ritornelli are completely interwoven, which leads Vatoison to suggest that it had been written for the court orchestra of Dresden. Here Johann David Heinichen worked as Kapellmeister from 1717 until his death in 1729, and his concertos and this concerto by Vivaldi are much alike. I would like to refer here to the excellent recording of some of Heinichen's concertos by Musica antiqua Köln on Archiv.

The way the instruments are treated is also very different. In the opening allegro of the Concerto for two oboes in C (RV 534) the oboes are mainly colouring the strings. This explains the title of this piece: 'concerto con due oboi' (with two oboes) instead of 'per due oboi' (for two oboes). This didn't hold the producers back from entitling this concerto in the tracklist as 'per 2 oboi'. The oboes are mainly playing parallel to each other. In the Concerto for violin and oboe (RV 548), on the other hand, the solo parts are strongly independent.

One also expects a lot of virtuosity in Vivaldi's concertos, and in the pieces played here there is certainly plenty of that. But there is also much expression and lyricism, in particular in the two solo concertos. The bassoon concerto has been written in galant style, which suggests that it is a work from a later period in Vivaldi's career. He wrote almost forty concertos for the bassoon, and he must have had a specific player in mind, whose identity is still unknown. There is much lyricism in this concerto, which may come as a surprise to those who consider the bassoon as an instrument mainly to support the bass or for comical effects. The oboe concerto contains much chromaticism and, in particular in the first movement, sighing motifs. The whole piece has a subdued and rather gloomy atmosphere, which is strongly reflected in the colour of the oboe.

And that Vivaldi, just like Telemann, was a master in exploiting the specific features of instruments is demonstrated by the two concertos RV 539 and 560, where he contrasts the cackling of the oboes with the mellow, soft-edged clarinets.

The performance of these concertos on this disc can hardly be surpassed. The ensemble playing is brilliant, and all soloists give outstanding performances. One hears all too rarely a bassoon played in such a colourful way as here in the Concerto RV 497. There is some exquisite ornamentation in the largo of the oboe concerto, played by Alfredo Bernardini. The last movement of the Concerto RV 534 is a good example of Zefiro's playing: it's not just the speed with which it is played, but also the strong sense of rhythm and the heavy accents which make it very exciting. Here and elsewhere the players are not afraid to take liberties where they see an opportunity, without crossing the border of good taste.

In short: this recording is an eye-opener for everyone who may think he knows Vivaldi after having heard a handful of pieces. It shows all the colours of Vivaldi's rainbow oeuvre. And it is difficult to imagine a more colourful, bold and technically brilliant performance than Zefiro offers here.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Fabio Biondi, L'europa Galante
"What Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante have captured in their recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is that wonderful esprit, bravura and finesse which excited audiences who heard I Musici and the Virtuosi di Roma 40 years ago. Too often, period instrument performances lose sight of the wood for the trees, becoming bogged down in the latest orthodoxy, sometimes resulting in effects which are self-conscious, exaggerated or even downright misplaced. technically reliable one, and we may question his judgement in matters of taste, just occasionally. But he understands very well that the purpose of the music is to delight his audience and, by and large, he succeeds." -- BBC Music Magazine