Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Violin concerto in C, RV 177 [13:05]
Violin concerto in D, RV 212a [14:39]
Violin concerto in D minor, RV 246 [9:04]
Violin concerto in B flat, RV 370 [12:32]
Violin concerto in D minor, RV 242 (Op. 8 No. 7) [10:02]
Violin concerto in B flat, RV 379 (Op. 12 No. 5) [10:04]
Violin concerto in G minor, RV 328 [8:21]
Dmitry Sinkovsky (violin)
Il Pomo d’Oro
rec. March 2012, Villa San Fermo, Lonigo, Italy
NAÏVE OP 30538 [77:47]
Somehow my review assignment has become a never-ending stack of
vigorously-played period-instrument albums of highly dramatic Vivaldi violin
concertos. It’s like I’m in the film
Groundhog Day,
except that instead of being Bill Murray stuck in the middle of nowhere,
I’m a happy Vivaldi fan trapped in paradise. Last year there was
Rachel Podger’s stunning two-CD set of the “La Cetra”
concertos (here’s
a review by Dominy Clements). Then came
“Nuove Stagioni”, from
Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti. “Vivaldi Con
Moto” from Giuliano Carmignola was recently my
Recording of the
Month. Now Naïve’s edition of the composer’s complete
works has arrived at an album which begins so thunderously, so excitingly,
that you’ll swear there are percussion players in the band. It was
only founded in 2012, but the Il Pomo d’Oro ensemble is clearly one to
hear.
They’re joined by Dmitry Sinkovsky, whose biography makes it
clear that he won the talent lottery in life. Besides playing and teaching
the violin and viola, Sinkovsky conducts a touring orchestra with the great
mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and on top of that, he regularly sings as a
counter-tenor. On this disc, the period-instrument’s youthful Swiss
Army knife plays violin and leads the orchestra.
Half the concertos here are dedicated to Johann Georg Pisendel, a
stern German soloist who led the Dresden court orchestra and was close
friends with J.S. Bach, Telemann and Zelenka, all of whose music he often
performed or even premiered. Pisendel adopted the other Vivaldi concertos on
this CD into his repertoire, too - copying them out in his own hand from the
originals. This theme does not mean that Vivaldi writes in a Germanic way:
he’s still his usual fiercely lively self.
Surprises and delights abound. Aside from that startling, percussive
opening, there’s the concerto RV 212a, which, unusually for Vivaldi,
contains two long and highly virtuosic solo cadenzas. That said, the first
movement’s cadenza was apparently not written out: if Sinkovsky wrote
or improvised it, I am very, very,
very impressed with the result.
The
grave minor-key slow movement in RV 370 is dramatic with big
contrasts between its outbursts and its hushed laments. Also notable are the
very prominent allusions to the
Four Seasons’
“Spring” in RV 379’s opening movement and the vigour of
its finale.
One of these concertos (RV 242) appears in Vivaldi’s Op. 8,
the collection of 12 concertos of which four are
The Four Seasons.
Comparing to Fabio Biondi’s performance - my favourite - this one
features a slow movement that’s
three times as long. This is
thanks to a slower tempo, some ornamentation in Sinkovsky’s solo
performance and a repeat of the main melody in an even slower, more delicate
reading that achieves exquisite, hushed perfection.
Vibrant, very forward sound captures the ensemble well, though you
needn’t turn the volume up all the way. The booklet essay is as
comprehensive as any other in this series, and includes notes on every
single concerto.
Truly, Naïve’s complete Vivaldi series continues in great form -
certainly
in finer fashion than the album’s cover model is wearing.
Brian Reinhart
