Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Antonini, Il Giardino Armonico :: Vivaldi: Violin Concertos

'MARVELOUS' MULLOVA 'RE-STRINGS' FOR A VIVALDI SPECTACULAR

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 04/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five BAROQUE Stars!! Spectacular performances!! Award-winning super violin virtuoso Viktoria Mullova once again demonstrates she can string her 1723 Jules Falk Stradivarius with gut strings tuned to A415, and wield a baroque period bow with the very best of today's classical artists. In interpreting the violin concertos of Antonio Vivaldi with Grammy winning baroque ensemble Il Giardino Armonico under the leadership of Giovanni Antonini, she has produced a CD that is a pure treasure trove of some superb violin works of the "Red Priest", which bear his immediately recognizable rhythmic, harmonic, and compositional stamps. If you loved her definitive exposition of the Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons) with Claudio Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and her excellent Beethoven, Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos and the Bach:Sonatas all using the 'baroque setup' and technique with differing violins, this Vivaldi period piece is just as wonderful.



The 'pieces de resistance' begin with the Concerto in D Major "Grosso Mogul" RV 208: the first and third Allegro movements have some astounding bow work by Ms Mullova in soliloquies that are just scintillating, as Vivaldi, a virtuoso violinist himself, intended. Ms Mullova's 'cantabile' execution of the Recitativo: Grave movement, proves once again that Mullova is among the very best violinists on planet Earth. The whirlwinds whipped up by the violins in Vivaldi's Concerto in B Minor for 4 violins are simply marvelous with many 'Four Seasons' allusions and splashes of sound: so good that Bach himself actually 'sampled' it for his four harpsichord work. Il Giradino Armonico proves once again that in today's world it truly is the 'harmonic garden' of Baroque music, 'playing as one' with Viktoria Mullova in the tradition. Bravo, Ms Mullova, Giovanni Antonini, and Father Vivaldi. The sound is clear, crisp, and immediate. My Highest Recommendation. Viktoria Mullova is AMAZING!! Five THRILLING Stars!! (This review is based on an iTunes download.)"

Wonderful performance

Richard Glass | San Francisco, CA | 02/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Given Mullova's generally serious demeanor, it's only to be expected that she would select some of Vivaldi's more substantial concertos, including the "Grosso Mogul" RV 208, the C major RV 187, and "Il Favorito" RV 277 (written in a nice, dark E minor). Her timbral smoothness makes the greatest possible contrast to the rough vigor of the opening ritornellos, so much so that her initial entrance in RV 208 at the beginning of the disc comes as something of a shock. Still, contrast is what Baroque concerto form is all about, and the beauty and suppleness of her playing makes her interactions with the orchestral ensemble truly memorable.

It's a wonderful performance that reveals the true potential of the authenticity movement to raise overall standards of musicianship in a way that really serves the work, without resorting to pedantry or inartistic theorizing. Exceptional sonics balance the continuo perfectly within the ensemble and Mullova just as ideally against everyone else.

It's a wonderful performance that reveals the true potential of the authenticity movement to raise overall standards of musicianship in a way that really serves the work, without resorting to pedantry or inartistic theorizing."

Vivaldi: Violin Concertos

G. Corazza | Johannesburg, South Africa | 07/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is magnificent music by Viktoria Mullova, very well accompanied by Il Giardino Armonico. I don't think that there is a better recording of the Vivaldi concertos."