COMPOSERS: VivaldiLocatelliTartini
LABELS: DG Archiv
ALBUM TITLE: VivaldiLocatelliTartini
WORKS: Violin Concertos
PERFORMER: Giuliano CarmignolaVenice Baroque OrchestraAndrea Marcon
CATALOGUE NO: 474 5172
Giuliano Carmignola and Andrea
Marcon are regular collaborators,
though their previous Vivaldi
recordings have tended to stick to
better-known works. The B flat
Concerto is unusual in that it calls for
a double string orchestra, particularly
effective at the opening, where the
forthright tutti is echoed in the
distance. All this is well caught by
the rich and detailed recording, as is
Carmignola – he’s not as adventurous
a player as Nigel Kennedy in this
repertoire, but there’s a lot of
character, together with a sweet and focused sound. He’s very careful
with vibrato and articulation, and
his rubato bends the pulse without
breaking it. This comes together most
affectingly in the Largo of the E minor
Concerto, where he caresses the solo
line in the most sensuous way.
The Locatelli isn’t as musically
gripping – too often it falls into offthe-
shelf Baroque sequences – but
it gives Carmignola an opportunity
for fireworks, though a few notes
don’t quite emerge cleanly at speed.
Otherwise he’s technically on top
of everything, and the trumpetlike
sound of his first entry in the
Tartini is a real feat of tonal control,
contrasting with the tenderness of the
slow movement, and its alternative,
included as a welcome bonus track.
Martin Cotton