Bob Harper
2/13/2014 8:57:00 PM
On 2/13/14, 11:24 AM, Dirge wrote:
> Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
>
> My favorite Marriner/ASMF/Argo recordings not included in the set are
> the aforementioned complete Handel Concerti grossi, Op. 6, and the
> *Tippett Fantasia concertante.
>
> My #1 rule of thumb regarding Marriner/ASMF/Argo recordings is that
> if it prominently features first-violinist Alan Loveday, I'm going to
> like it. As good as his playing in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is,
> it's his playing in Tippett's Fantasia concertante (as leader of the
> concertino of himself, Caine, and Heath) that I would cite as my Alan
> Loveday highlight of highlights; the performance overall is actually
> a bit slower and more Romantic than my ideal, sounding a bit more
> like a triple concerto than a concerto grosso than I'd prefer, but
> the Loveday-led concertino carries the day. The later ASV account is
> excellent in its own right, being a notch or two swifter, tauter, and
> less Romantic than its predecessor, but the concertino of Brown,
> Sillito& Vigay, excellent as it certainly is, doesn't have the magic
> of the earlier concertino; still, this is my second-favorite
> recording of the work and one that's easy to recommend.
>
> Some favorite movements/moments from the Academy as a whole would
> include the third movement of the "Spring" concerto from The Four
> Seasons, which right from the git-go features some of the most
> luminous and shimmering string playing I know; the Musette from
> Concerto grosso No. 6, Op. 6 (from the complete set), which ideally
> balances elegance, characterization, and stateliness; the whole of
> Quiet City for generating and maintaining the elusive atmosphere and
> ticklish balance of elements that eludes every other account; and the
> whole of the Adagio for Strings for its unflagging focus and
> concentration in controlling tension while craftily and dramatically
> building to an intense climax, which makes the post-climax all the
> more effective.
Excellent comments all. How could I have forgotten to include the
Loveday Four Seasons? Still my favorite after all these years.
Bob Harper