Vivaldi - Four Seasons - Fabio Biondi w/ Europa Galante

Antonio Vivaldi's Opus 8, titled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, contains 12 baroque concertos, 4 of which are somewhat more popular than the others, and only those are featured in this torrent.



This performance on period instruments by the Europa Galante ensemble conducted by Fabio Biondi sounds like no other.



David Hurwitz of Classics Today says, "Biondi's a dynamo, playing with such freedom, slashing power, and, in the soulful slow movements, sugared sweetness, that the music sounds newly minted and fresh. He's matched by his crack period-instrument band that plays with a unanimity and secure intonation that will dazzle those brought up on the scratchy whines of their northern bretheren. ... This is the Four Seasons to have if you're only having one."



Dan Davis, quoted at Amazon: "Another Four Seasons, but this one shoots to the top of the list. Fabio Biondi's imaginative playing is full of spunk and vigor, delineating Vivaldi's scene-painting without overdoing it. His band matches him with rhythmic vitality; this is one Vivaldi set that holds your interest from start to finish."