Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Le Quattro Stagione
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (1965-70, arr. Leonid Desyatnikov, 1996-98)
Les Dissonances/David Grimal (violin)
rec. live, May 2010, Opéra de Dijon, France
Reviewed as lossless 16-bit download
APARTÉ LD002 [67]
This recording from more than a decade ago came to my attention while reviewing a new release featuring these two works. A brief listen suggested that the Piazzolla, in its violin and strings arrangement, could be a very good one – cue credit card. Les Dissonances was founded in 2004 by David Grimal, with the aim of taking classical music to those “intimidated” by it, as well as raising money for a homeless charity.
The recording comes from a concert, and to provide variety through it, the Piazzolla works are interspersed between the Vivaldi concertos. In principle, this makes sense, but not in the way it was done. For Summer, Autumn and Winter, the Piazzolla precedes the Vivaldi, but the two Springs have been separated, so that we start with the Vivaldi and close with the Piazzolla. Perhaps this was done so that the concert finished with the dramatic and dazzling Spring, rather than the moodier Winter.
Let me discuss the Vivaldi first, prefacing it by explaining that my favourite version is by Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante on Naïve. Spring is given a very graceful and enjoyable reading, which gave me a misleadingly optimistic expectation of the other three; they go downhill in order. Summer receives a decent enough performance, though I have certainly heard more dramatic storms. The almost minimalist Adagio molto in Autumn is played quickly, almost a minute faster than Biondi (a weak point in his set) and Amandine Beyer (a strong point in hers), and makes little impact. The galloping rhythms in the final movement are too slow and over-exaggerated. I really didn’t like Winter at all. The Largo, so brilliantly played by Biondi, is barrelled through at almost Allegro tempo; by contrast, the slow, hesitant section in the middle of the closing Allegro is so stop-start that all momentum is lost.
So, on the basis of the Vivaldi, my purchase wasn’t looking to be great value. However, it had been the Piazzolla that had grabbed my attention originally, and I’m pleased to say that it is much better, possibly the best I have heard in this arrangement. Piazzolla’s Winter is one of my favourite pieces of music, regardless of version, and this is a very good performance indeed. The pizzicato phrases that close the work are beautifully played. Elsewhere, there are numerous wonderful moments, and the contrast between the raw fast sections and the sultry and sensuous slow ones is very convincing. So purchase value recovered; after all, I wasn’t really expecting to encounter a Vivaldi to challenge Biondi.
The booklet, in French and English, is fourteen pages, and there is not one word on the music, other than the track list; it consists entirely of information on the orchestra, its leader and their philanthropic aims. I think might possibly be unique in my experience. Now I personally wasn’t in need of biographical and musicological information on the composers and the two works, but what about those previously intimidated audience members who enjoyed themselves so much, they went out and bought the CD. Surely they might like to know a little more about Vivaldi and Piazzolla than just their birth and death years.
As mentioned, the recording was taken from a live performance (or possibly more than one), and the audience is on quite good behaviour. The applause has been removed except at the very end, and while there were a few coughs and other background noises, they were not a problem. What was more distracting were the very audible intakes of breath by David Grimal before big moments. The acoustic is very dry, leading to some fairly harsh moments in the violins (especially Grimal’s) under stress.
So a mixed bag indeed. If you are tempted by my comments, you might listen to the Vivaldi on one of the streaming services. If you happen to agree with my thoughts, then it would be more economic to just buy the Piazzolla tracks (assuming you are happy with downloads).
David Barker
Published: November 18, 2022
