Vivaldi - "Le Quattro Stagioni" (The Four Seasons) - Anne Sophie-Mutter (violin) - Trondheim Soloists - (DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON)

Is not every day that I find I classical recording that absolutely baffles me. This one is one of those.

Anne-Sophie Mutter is a revered violinist in the classical music world. Her technique and skills are amazing, she’s a virtuoso beyond question. I never figured her as much of a baroque expert, though. When I was looking for a new version, in modern instruments, of Antonio Vivaldi’s magnificent “Quattro Stagioni” (The Four Seasons), I certainly got very optimistic when I saw her in the cover, though I also felt somewhat cautious. Would she do a overly romantic reading of the score? Would she play it safe?

It turns out, she really did whatever she wanted with Vivaldi’s music. This is no mere romanticizing of a baroque work; this is 100% making it a virtuoso fest, suited totally to the emotions and the desires of the interpreter. Mutter, leading the Trondheim Soloist in this recording, makes the most out of the music for her own benefit, sometimes getting on the way of a more fluid discourse for the score. The slow parts are excruciatingly slow, the pianissimo parts are so low they can’t be heard, and on the other hand, the forte parts are loud as thunder, and the fast parts played at speeds that would probably make Vivaldi faint in amazement. Though it works from time to time, Mutter’s playing with the tempos and the accents got on my nerves in more than one occasion.

“Spring” is harmless enough. By the end of the last movement, we’re certain a storm is about to arrive, and not just one created by Vivaldi in the music. “Summer” is a complete different beast. It starts glacially slow and quiet, then it builds up tension, until it explodes in the fast section. All works well enough though the solo violin parts seem to have been taken from a Paganini concert instead of from a Vivaldi one; the last movement of the concert, though, just leaves me trying to catch my breath. The speed is unbelievable, the ensemble and the soloist trying to show us how fast this music can really go. The breaks in-between the bursts of speed are contrastingly slow, to a point where the work starts to feel more like a rhapsody made of different barely-related parts than like a baroque violin concert. “Autumn” gets a very solemn treatment in the last movement (the one where recordings usually fail to impress me), the hunting march moving forward with an impulse and determination rarely heard. “Winter”, as the darkest, at times fastest concert of the four, is probably the more chaotic here, and the rhapsodic feel returns, with stark contrasts that go from pianissimo to fortissimo in the blink of an eye, with fast sections played so violently that, without exaggeration, make the music sound almost like metal.

In the end, this is an unusual reading of the score, probably not one for baroque purists, but one that, once understood, can provide a lot of enjoyment. It certainly is one of the most romantic, expressive, and definitely, FASTEST “Four Seasons” around. I’d recommend it but with reserves. Try a more relaxed version first. Then aim for an authentic-instruments one. Then you will be ready for the display of pyrotechnics that this album contains.

As a side note, there’s also a recording of Giuseppe Tartini’s “Devil Trill” Sonata in the album. Though it totally pales in comparison with Vivaldi’s superb music, it’s a nice piece that showcases a more earthly, less thunderous side of Mutter’s playing.

3.5/5

Telemann, Marcello et al. - Trumpet Concertos - Sergei Nakariakov (trumpet) - The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra - Hugh Wolff (TELDEC)

A long time I bought this recording exclusively for the Telemann piece (the F-minor one). At the time, I didn’t even check what else was on the disc; I just had to get a CD-version of the concerto written by the ultra-prolific German composer. As I found out later, the rest of the music is of hit-or-miss quality.

First on we have a concerto by Antonio Vivaldi. Originally written for violin and oboe, this piece in B-flat is a light little concerto that doesn’t completely grab my attention. Maybe it’s the fact that, because of the transcription, the trumpet sounds slightly out of place with the music that surrounds it, I’m not sure. As with all Vivaldi, though, one can’t expect anything else but a joyful time.

The second concerto is a D-major one by Georg Phillip Telemann. Unlike the one that steals the show at the end, this one lacks the dramatic punch or the melodic gift necessary to make it unforgettable. Anyway, this is a good rendition by the (then) very young Russian virtuoso Sergei Nakariakov and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Hugh Wolff.

The work of Johann Baptist Georg Neruda was unknown to me until I listened to the Concerto in E-flat, which is the longest one in the disc. The style of this piece is more classical and less baroque than the rest of the music on this album. To be honest, I'm not going to rush and get more recordings of Neruda’s works anytime soon. Though graceful and light, the concerto pales in comparison with the rest, with little character and invention, and short in melodic delicacies.

Things change for the better with Alessandro Marcello’s dark, winter-ready concerto in C-minor. The powerful statement that opens it sets the stage for the rest of the piece, where the trumpet sounds much more involved than in the previous one. The second movement is particularly beautiful, though I’m almost positive that it would sound even more beautiful in its original instrument, the oboe. Nakariakov plays with grace, though I think he could have avoided embellishing the theme when it is so perfect just by itself.

As is my norm, I pretty much ignored Bach’s Agnus Dei from his B-minor Mass here as it’s an adaptation and also an excerpt, unnecessarily cut from one of music’s all-time most glorious moments.

The best has been left for last. Telemann’s concerto in F-minor is also originally an oboe piece, but it has been played so often in this trumpet form that it has become a staple of the instrument’s repertoire. My favorite work by the composer, it’s presented brilliantly here by the Russian trumpeter who seems to understand it perfectly. The ambiguous, imposing first phrase of the concerto has all the necessary energy, though it could be played a hair slower for my taste. Unlike the Neruda piece, here the slow movement gets a great treatment by Nakariakov, who caresses the notes with his instrument. The third movement is an absolute gem of an interpretation, with the right speed and character.

As I said before, the album is not perfect but it’s highly recommended (if still possible to get), if only for the Telemann F-minor concerto and the Marcello work.

3.5/5

Vivaldi - L'estro Armonico ; 4 Concertos for wind instruments - Sir Neville Marriner - Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields - DECCA

I had always preferred Vivaldi’s latest concert cycles to “L’Estro Armonico” (his earliest), especially "Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione" (where his famous “Four Seasons” come from). Listening to this recording by the venerable Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields hasn’t changed my mind, but it has added extra weight to the figure of the Italian priest.

There are 12 concertos in the cycle, some in major, and some in minor keys. The breadth of variation here is enormous, with Vivaldi dazzling us in every piece with every little turn or twist. Though most concertos are in the three-movement form (with the exception of the 2^nd in G minor), not all of them adhere to the traditional fast-slow-fast structure, and the Italian master keeps surprising us with his creativity

As a second part of the set, we get 4 concertos for wind instruments. While not as vibrant or impressive as the ones in “L’Estro Armonico”, they serve as a good introduction for the rest of the composer’s concert output, which was not exclusively based on the violin and the other strings. I found two of them particularly exciting: the concerto for bassoon in A minor, where Vivaldi had to deal with an instrument that demanded a more cautioned approach to the orchestra part, and the one for 2 oboes, 2 horns and violin in F, where the composer masterfully combines 5 concertino voices with that of the ensemble.

The recording is not up to the best standards set by more modern releases, and at times the music just doesn’t jump up front. Clarity is OK but not perfect. The versions themselves, on the other hand, are of the same high quality that Marriner and his ASMF have made us used to. I recommend this double-set for the great music and the great playing in modern instruments by the performers. For a person new to Vivaldi, I’d try first with the “Four Seasons” before I jump to any complete cycle.

3.5/5

Albinoni (Gaziotto) et al. - Adagio, Canon and more orchestral favorites - Herbert Von Karajan - Berlin Philharmonic - DG

When I think of Herbert von Karajan and his long term association with the Berlin Philharmonic, I rarely think of baroque music first. Usually, I picture Von Karajan conducting Beethoven or Mahler or some other Germanic, romantic-oriented composer. Nevertheless, I needed a new version of “Albinoni’s” “Adagio” and Pachelbel’s “Canon”, two of the best-known little baroque pieces that for some reasons weren’t in my collection in any shape or form. So I tried with this DG recording, and I can say that associating the Austrian maestro with baroque music will not be so far-fetched for me anymore.

The first track in the disc is the piece still known as “Albinoni’s Adagio”. It has long been established that Tomasso Albinoni never composed the piece, but Remo Giazotto, who published it and has been denied the fame he justly deserves even if only for this single work. This reading of the Adagio is fantastic, it literally made my eyes watery, conveying so much emotion; probably the best I’ve heard. Not good for purists maybe, but for me, Karajan added a romantic depth to the piece that turned it from a minor pretty composition into a masterpiece of sadness.

Next on is Vivaldi’s “La Notte”, a concerto for flute, strings and harpsichord. Vibrant as all Vivaldi is, it was the first time I ever heard it so I can’t compare it with other versions. The energy of the music is easily brought to life by the Berlin orchestra’s superb string section.

I didn’t pay much attention to Bach’s “Air” from his third orchestral suite as I don’t like listening to the piece without listening to the entire work. Anyway, it’s almost impossible to even imagine a bad version of Bach by the Germans and Karajan (actually, it’s hard to imagine anyone making this little thing sound anything else but glorious. Bach’s music is that perfect.)

Pachelbel’s “Canon and Gigue”, the other main reason for my buying this album, gets a good if-a-little-fast reading. Unlike with the Adagio, in here the orchestra sounds cold, playing through the motions. It’s the best orchestra in the world, so it sounds ok. But I’ve heard warmer versions. The addition of the entire work (some recordings omit the gigue) is welcomed.

Christoph Willibald Gluck’s music has never been one of my strong points. I have to admit listening to the “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from “Orpheus and Eurydice” was a revelation. The music is astoundingly beautiful, Mozart-like beautiful, and the recording here does it justice.

The disc closes with Mozart’s “Serenata Notturna”, K. 239. A light, graceful, rather forgettable little piece by the Salzburg master, the work receives fair treatment by the orchestra. Though, again, I feel the version is a little on the uninspired side of things. It’s not Mozart’s best work, but I’ve heard it played with more gusto even by lesser ensembles.

Overall, this album is a good option for someone wanting to have a version of the Adagio and Pachelbel’s Canon without having to get more music by either Albinoni (who isn’t the author of the piece anyway) or the German composer. The recording is clear and efficient, and the playing is extremely accurate, and in three of the works, inspired.

3.5/5