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| Vivaldi : L'estro armonico / Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante | 
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| Creators: Antonio Vivaldi, Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi
Label: Virgin Veritas
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $8.71
You Save: $8.27 (49%)
Buy New/Used from $6.83
Avg. Customer Rating:  (18 reviews)
Sales Rank: 91664
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 45315
UPC: 724354531521
EAN: 0724354531521
ASIN: B000007TKK
Release Date: July 14, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Concerto No.2 In G Minor: 1. Adagio e Spiccato | | • | Concerto No.2 In G Minor: 2. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.2 In G Minor: 3. Larghetto | | • | Concerto No.2 In G Minor: 4. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.1 in D major: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.1 in D major: 2. Largo e spiccato | | • | Concerto No.1 in D major: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.6 In A Minor: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.6 In A Minor: 2. Largo | | • | Concerto No.6 In A Minor: 3. Presto | | • | Concerto No.5 In A Major: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.5 In A Major: 2. Largo | | • | Concerto No.5 In A Major: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.4 In E Minor: 1. Andante | | • | Concerto No.4 In E Minor: 2. Allegro assai | | • | Concerto No.4 In E Minor: 3. Adagio | | • | Concerto No.4 In E Minor: 4. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.3 In G Major: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.3 In G Major: 2. Largo | | • | Concerto No.3 In G Major: 3. Allegro |
Disc 2
| • | Concerto No.8 In A Minor, RV522: 1. Andante | | • | Concerto No.8 In A Minor, RV522: 2. Larghetto e spiritoso | | • | Concerto No.8 In A Minor, RV522: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.7 In F Major, RV567: 1. Andante | | • | Concerto No.7 In F Major, RV567: 2. Adagio | | • | Concerto No.7 In F Major, RV567: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.7 In F Major, RV567: 4. Adagio | | • | Concerto No.7 In F Major, RV567: 5. Allegro | | • | Concerto No. 11 In D Minor, RV565: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No. 11 In D Minor, RV565: 2. Adagio e spiccato | | • | Concerto No. 11 In D Minor, RV565: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No. 11 In D Minor, RV565: 4. Largo e spiccato | | • | Concerto No. 11 In D Minor, RV565: 5. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.9 In D Major, RV 230: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.9 In D Major, RV 230: 2. Larghetto | | • | Concerto No.9 In D Major, RV 230: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.10 In B Minor, RV580: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.10 In B Minor, RV580: 2. Largo e spiccato | | • | Concerto No.10 In B Minor, RV580: 3. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.12 In E Major, RV265: 1. Allegro | | • | Concerto No.12 In E Major, RV265: 2. Largo e spiccato | | • | Concerto No.12 In E Major, RV265: 3. Allegro |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This was the great collection of 12 varied and exciting violin concertos that turned Bach on to concerto writing. In fact, he transcribed several of these works for solo harpsichord, organ--even for harpsichords and orchestra. What fascinated him most was the balanced, three-movement form, the brilliance of the solo passages, the tunefulness of the music generally, and Vivaldi's seemingly inexhaustible storehouse of invention. When a composer ventured to publish a collection such as this, he was making a major statement. This is one of the really big ones in Baroque music, and it's performed with splendid authority and an unrivaled sense of sheer joy. --David Hurwitz
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 J.S. Bach liked it and so did I !! April 21, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The more I hear Vivaldi, the more I see the Four Seasons as a little strand of the composer's vast output and inspired work. L'estro Armonico is totally upbeat, and so much so that some pieces could even be the precursors of tango, flamenco, and polka. Don't be surprised if this music moves you to dance.
Perfection March 5, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have been listening to Vivaldi's L'estro armonico for over 30 years, the Academy of St Martins in the Field's 1975 recording got me hooked, now it would sound a bit dull, then the Academy of Ancient Music's 1980 period instrument version was better, and still sounds pretty good, then the English Concert's version and so on. I used to dream of a perfect interpretation of this work, and on first hearing this version I knew this was it, a perfect recording of a very important work. But I guess it all boils down to whether you love or hate Biondi, I obviously love him. Baroque music is all about interpretation, not just playing the notes on a published score which was only meant as a guide for a virtuoso performer. There was little point in publishing music too difficult for a prospective buyer. I will concede that Biondi stretches it a bit sometimes, like his Opus 8, but not here.
There is little point in going on, if you prefer your Vivaldi unornamented as published, thats OK, but I think this is a wonderful interpretation, I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.
Vibrant Vivaldi (Despite Biondi) August 15, 2006
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Formed in 1990 as one of Italy's pioneering period instrument ensembles, Europa Galante (with its leader Fabio Biondi) is decidedly in the "subjective" camp of period instrument performers - those who believe that creating an exciting experience for modern-day listeners is more important than pure "authenticity". They have succeeded in cultivating a distinctively Italian period-instrument sound - more vibrato and legato than most baroque players - that seems a natural outgrowth of the sounds of the Italian language. At their best, they produce an incredibly warm, sweet, vocal string sound, such as can be heard at the beginning of the D major violin concerto on this set (track 14 of disc 2). In addition to following standard baroque orthodoxies, they often take great liberties with their music, using extreme changes of tempo and dynamics and the percussive effects of a prominent continuo section to create a dramatic experience. Since these players are Italian, Vivaldi is their birthright, and their passionate interpretations could not be more different from the anemic sound that sometimes comes from northern European period players.
Although he brings a welcome Italianate flair to the music, to my taste Fabio Biondi's style on this recording is simply too eccentric: he feels the need to play every phrase with different articulations and amounts of vibrato, and to cram in superfluous ornaments at incredibly fast tempos (to say nothing of his un-beautiful execution of trills). I almost feel that he concentrates on surface thrills and sensual aspects of the music at the expense of structural clarity and coherence, and that he plays with the music rather than plays it. He is obviously trying to bring the music alive, but at its worst his approach comes off as fussy and flaky. To be fair, my unfavorable impression may be due partly to the rather dry, thin, constricted timbre of his violin on this disc; I own other Biondi/Europa Galante CD's that show him to much better advantage.
As might be expected, the strongest tracks on this set are the concerti grossi and the concertos for multiple violins, where Biondi's eccentricities are tempered by his colleagues, and the efforts of the band as a whole cohere to produce vibrant, exciting, meaningful performances. That not many complete recordings of Vivaldi's Opus 3 on period instruments are available may mean that this mid-priced set will be a viable choice for many listeners. For my part, I have decided that I can live with Biondi's shortcomings and love Europa Galante and Vivaldi.
BRILLIANT May 24, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is clearly one of my favorite baroque albums; it is some of the best music Vivaldi ever wrote. The performance is splendid.
 Not a good choice July 1, 2004
20 out of 32 found this review helpful
I had 3 excellent versions of Vivaldi's opus 3 (I Solisti Veneti, I Musici and N. Marriner), but I wanted a new version to enjoy it with real DDD sound. Unfortunately, I'm very dissapointed by this CD. Although I have listened it many times to see if can get used to it, I cannot like this performance. Europa Galante is an excellent ensemble, but in my opinion the problem here was the conductor.
Apparently Biondi tried to be "original" at any cost, so in each concerto he needs to add some fancy "effects" as he thought this music needs to be made more interesting. As a result you hear a sharp attack of the notes in one bar, the next bar is played legato, the following bar is with dotted notes, now the next bar is pianissimo,and now the following is fortissimo and so on... There is never a steady moment where the music can expand and you can feel the Harmony. You are just shaken around. The dynamics is exaggerated (huge and senseless dynamic jumps), the duration of some silences is exaggerated, he adds some annoying ritardandos that destroy the natural progression of the melodic line, etc. In addition, there are a lot of unnecessary 'embellishment' notes, much beyond what the music can stand.
These concertos contain very beautiful slow tempos that are treated here without respect. In some of them the chords are played so forte that it sounds as if someone were slashing the violins, destroying the subtle atmosphere of the music; in others, the soloist insists with his melismatic ornamental notes that trivializes the music up to a point of making it sound almost vulgar. I recognize that there are some good movements and the continuo part is very good, but I had a hard time for most of this disc because of the hyperkinetic and frantic style. For some moments I felt so annoyed that if this had been a live performance I would have tempted to stand up and shout: Could you please just play it how it was written! This CD will not show you L'Estro Armonico as Vivaldi deserves. It seems as if the soloist is much more interested in just showing of his fingering dexterity, no matter how much damage to the music is done. Finally I gave away this CD and purchased the version by C. Hogwood. That one was definitely better.
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