Janine Jansen Follows her First Decca Album of Violin Favorites with this High-energy Account of Vivaldi's Four Violin Concertos, Known and Loved as 'the Four Seasons'. The Dutch Violinist Leads her Specially Selected Grou... more »p of Soloists in a Fresh Look at the Most Loved of all Classical Works. What Gives this Recording Its Tremendous Freshness and Sparkle is Janine's Use of Just One Player Per Part. Gone is the Heavy Orchestral Sound which is So Familiar, this is a Four Seasons which Sparkles with New Life and Energy, Like a Freshly Cleaned Old Painting Revealed in Its True Colors.« less
Janine Jansen Follows her First Decca Album of Violin Favorites with this High-energy Account of Vivaldi's Four Violin Concertos, Known and Loved as 'the Four Seasons'. The Dutch Violinist Leads her Specially Selected Group of Soloists in a Fresh Look at the Most Loved of all Classical Works. What Gives this Recording Its Tremendous Freshness and Sparkle is Janine's Use of Just One Player Per Part. Gone is the Heavy Orchestral Sound which is So Familiar, this is a Four Seasons which Sparkles with New Life and Energy, Like a Freshly Cleaned Old Painting Revealed in Its True Colors.
"As is quoted in the liner notes, "A wrong note played with the right intention is much to be preferred to the right note played with no soul" pretty much sums up what this album is all about. The intent, obvious from the first note, is Passion and great quantities of it.
If the listener is one who, above all prefers precision and accuracy, look elsewhere. If, however one craves soul and passion in a spirited performance, this recording will bring much pleasure, with many repeated listenings being inevitable.
Jansen's account is easily the most exciting performance I've yet heard of these much loved favorites.
Any moment wasted trying to decide whether to buy this album or not is another moment not basking in it's wonderful wash of sound."
OOOO-WEEEEE!
Billy the Yak | Clemson, SC | 06/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Janine Jansen recording of that old Vivaldi standard "The Four Seasons" (which itself is bordering on being hackneyed through over-use) just arrived. As one review I read somewhere noted, it is indeed probably not for most folks. Only eight instruments are used: 2 violins (Jansen plays a Strad.), viola, cello, double bass, box organ, theorbo(!!), and harpsichord.
This one DEMANDS that you pay attention to it; it is absolutely chock-full of subtlety and nuance that the casual listener would probably fail to appreciate, if not find downright grating in places. If you seek background music for your garden party, there are dozens of excellent recordings of this work that fit that bill.
I've heard things in the score I've never heard in other recordings, even discounting a bit of improvisational embellishment. The excessive voluptuousness of full string orchestra often mooshes everything out into an easily digestible pablum for public consumption.
She handles both serene and frenetic passages with the ability one would expect from the temporary custodian of a Stradivarius. Her tempi (and transitions) are often surprising, as are the dynamics. There are times when one feels the instruments are being pushed right to their limits, (occasionally sounding like it verges on instrument abuse) thus generating tonal qualities seldom heard in this piece. I am mightily impressed."
Exciting, Quite Original, Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" From
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 07/08/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Startling, exciting, and quite original, are the very words to describe Janine Jansen's unique, quite insightful, interpretation of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons". While there are many fine recordings of this work, with the best of the relatively recent crop include Mutter's and Chang's, Jansen's recording deserves ample praise simply for its bold, daring performance of Vivaldi's concerti cycle. Why? Hers is quite literally a stripped-down interpretation, consisting of herself, five other strings (two violins, viola, cello and double bass), theorbo and box organ/harpsichord. It is a tightly knit ensemble that includes American violinist Julian Rachlin, her brother Maarten (cello) and her father Jan (box organ/harpsichord). This allows for a "wonderfully transparent sound" that allowed "the musicians to be very flexible in colouring, dynamics and timing", as she notes in the CD liner notes. An ensemble that has yielded a very brisk, and very spirited, interpretation of these Vivaldi pieces. Needless to say, Decca's sound engineers have done a superlative job in this recording, which was made back in the Spring of 2004 in a Dutch concert hall. If there is only one false note that might be seized upon by detractors of Ms. Jansen's exceptional talents as a fine young classical musician, then it is the existence of appealing, quite alluring, photographs of her in rather revealing gowns on virtually every page of the CD liner notes; however, do not use these as a guide to determine whether or not you should acquire what is truly an exciting, rather invigorating, interpretation of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons".
"
A wonderful revelation
G. L. Zahn | CA, USA | 07/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This performance is like hearing what you thought was a familiar piece for the first time. The clarity provided by having one instrument per part is enlightening. And the performances are outstanding. Highly recommended for any Four Seasons lover."
Way too Romantic
twc | 05/22/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I expected more from Ms. Jansen due to her reputation. But I should have known better after seeing the CD cover, with the artist carefully 'lounging' - posing in a way to display herself center stage, whilst dangling her Stradivarius like a bauble. The cover actually is a good summary of the music within: a tribute to the violinist, rather than the music.
I have heard other "passionate" renditions of the Seasons before, but I found this one unthoughtful and out-of-control in comparison. This is purely a romantic performance of a Baroque piece, and that's a shame, bc Janine is talented & smart enough to balance her interpretation with the score. I think that every violinist who records something as widely known as the Seasons has a difficult job standing out. That's why it's pretty amazing when you hear the performer's voice through the familiar structure, and the Seasons are reinvented. But this recording is indulgent. It's unique bc it is played without structure -- nothing newer or deeper than that.
In the first paragraph of this CD's booklet (which shows multiple other pose-y pictures of herself), Janine Jansen writes: "While trying to be faithful to each score, emotion and passion are very important to me in a performance. Technique has to be there, of course, but it should never be the main thing."
Her paragraph is a good summary of the performance. She's so talented, which is why I really missed the absence of balance, elegance, & nuance in her interpretation. It sounds like an earnest, clever artist deliberately trying to be different. I would actually admire that more if the expression went deeper than exaggerated emotions. In the end, I guess it's a matter of taste. Many people will find this a passionate rendition. I thought it was certainly emotional, but not genuine. The phrasing is strange, with emphasis on particular notes rather than the overall melody (esp noted in Spring). The tempos lurch from one extreme to the other. The dynamics are in your face, going from one extreme to the other within a space of phrases. Not everything is technically clean either -- Winter is a amateurish headlong rush & all the notes are meshed together. But my main critique is that Janine takes such artistic freedom with Vivaldi's music that Vivaldi's structure, that unseen but lovely extra performer, is purposefully cast out, deliberately not given a chance to tango.
However, this CD is a fun and entertaining listen! I listen to it occasionally for the pop music quality of the playing which is fun! - like Richard Clayderman does the Bach Goldberg Variations. My husband, who doesn't really listen to classical, actually told me that he felt uneasy when I had the CD running, so in a way, Janine Jansen has pushed the envelope (a positive or negative again depending on point of view).
I have to commend the other players on this CD. My favorite part was the purity of their instrumental voices, which was generally clear due to the small group setting, especially in the Spring runs. The recording quality is excellent."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
