Search - Zukerman, English Chamber Orchestra :: Vivaldi Concerti

More essential violin recordings of the red-haired priest !!

Scott68 | Columbus, Ohio United States | 02/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most of us already know Vivaldi wrote over 400 concertos, that no less than 200 of them were written for the violin, and that many of them had an influence on Bach. The most popular and well-known of his works are of course The Four Seasons, but if you have heard that piece too much and want more Vivaldi, this is a great CD to get, great not good. I have many Vivaldi CDs and some are better than others, this is one of the best I have heard: never is there a wrong note and never does the music seem dull or lifeless, the tempos also have a completely natural feel. If you have read my previous reviews, you know I am very picky about things like tone, intonation, and phrasing. It would be hard to argue that Mr Zukerman's sound does not contain the best of all of these elements. The tone on this CD is totally phenominal, his phrasing is so colorful and elegant. Mr Zukerman's vibrato is so lush and romantic and so beautiful it will amaze you. When I met Mr. Zukerman, he told me his violin is a 1742 Guarneri Del Gesu, made by the same maker and within one year as Paganini's violin (who could posess any violin he wanted), no wonder it sounds so good, it seems to have a darker, more mid-rangy "toasted" sound that is so characteristic of Guarneri's. This is my favorite tone of all the Guanreri's I have heard recordings of.Some think baroque music should be played with little or no vibrato, that in the day vibrato was to be used as an ornament or as an effect. I personally love the way Mr Zukerman uses vibrato and his interpretations here are so expressive. This is easily one of my favorite Vivaldi CDs, I couldn't ask for a better Vivaldi CD than this. I give this CD five stars without hesitation: great music played and recorded incredibly well, isn't that what you want? If you have trouble finding this CD for sale, send me a note because I seem to have acquired an extra sealed copy.I also fully recommend Zukerman's recording of the Vivaldi Op. 8 Nos. 5-12, and Perlman's CD titled "Antonio Vivaldi: Four Violin Concertos"."