COMPOSERS: Vivaldi
LABELS: Teldec Das Alte Werk
WORKS: The Four Seasons
PERFORMER: Alice Harnoncourt (violin) Concentus Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
CATALOGUE NO: 4509-93267-2 ADD (1977)
This is stabbing, gut-Vivaldi. By using small forces and treating the violin virtually as a member of the ensemble, Harnoncourt brings out just what an avant-garde figure the musical ‘Red Priest’ was in his day . The result is a far cry from more populist four-seasonal mush. He offers not four, but six, of the dozen Op. 8 concertos – and the extra pair is worth hearing. But the sound is distinctly better with headphones than without, and some sudden transitions feel too much like engineered ones. Roderic Dunnett
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
This is stabbing, gut-Vivaldi. By using small forces and treating the violin virtually as a member of the ensemble, Harnoncourt brings out just what an avant-garde figure the musical ‘Red Priest’ was in his day . The result is a far cry from more populist four-seasonal mush. He offers not four, but six, of the dozen Op. 8 concertos – and the extra pair is worth hearing. But the sound is distinctly better with headphones than without, and some sudden transitions feel too much like engineered ones. Roderic Dunnett
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm