Album

Nobody would accuse violinist Giuliano Carmignola, harpsichordist and conductor Andrea Marcon, or the Venice Baroque Orchestra of softness or sentimentality. In this 2006 recording of five violin concertos by Vivaldi, no trace of vibrato or portamento touches their bows and even crescendos are treated as if contagious. There's no doubting Carmignola's energy or virtuosity. He tears into the works with the kind of ardor most violinists reserve for Paganini. And there's no doubting Marcon and the Venetian orchestra's ability or sincerity. Marcon leads as if Vivaldi's concertos were on the same aesthetic level as Bach's concertos and the orchestra performs as if flat necks and cat gut strings were all they had ever held. But if Carmignola and Marcon are going to perform Vivaldi, they're apparently going to perform him their way, extremely expressively, extraordinarily dynamically, and incandescently brilliantly. These are unquestionably among the most exciting performances of Vivaldi concertos ever recorded—just listen to Marcon's exuberant finger glissando at the close of the C major Concerto; it'll send a chill down your spine—but only those who can surrender their preconceptions about Vivaldi may come in the long run to do more than admire them. Archiv's sound is crisp, clean, colorful, and, for all intents and purposes, real.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Violin Concerto in G-, RV331 Work 12:56 Venice Baroque Orchestra Orchestra, Giuliano Carmignola Violin, Andrea Marcon Harpsichord
1	1.Allegro	4:19			$0.99
2	2.Largo	4:35			$0.99
3	3.Allegro	4:02			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Violin Concerto in C, RV190 Work 14:02 Venice Baroque Orchestra Orchestra, Giuliano Carmignola Violin, Andrea Marcon Harpsichord
4	1.Allegro	5:41			$0.99
5	2.Largo	4:09			$0.99
6	3.Allegro	4:12			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Violin Concerto in G-, RV325 Work 7:31 Venice Baroque Orchestra Orchestra, Giuliano Carmignola Violin, Andrea Marcon Harpsichord
7	1.Allegro molto	3:32			$0.99
8	2.Largo a piacimento	1:56			$0.49
9	3.Presto	2:03			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Violin Concerto in D, RV217 Work 10:57 Venice Baroque Orchestra Orchestra, Giuliano Carmignola Violin, Andrea Marcon Harpsichord
10	1.Allegro	3:46			$0.99
11	2.Largo	3:35			$0.99
12	3.Allegro	3:36			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Violin Concerto in G, RV303 Work 12:20 Venice Baroque Orchestra Orchestra, Giuliano Carmignola Violin, Andrea Marcon Harpsichord
13	1.Allegro molto	4:26			$0.99
14	2.Largo	4:08			$0.99
15	3.Allegro	3:46			$0.99