VIVALDI: Concertos (Vol. 12) - Max Goberman, New York Sinfonietta

Vivaldi New York Sinfonietta v 12 liner notes

The composition of the CONCERTO FOR TWO MANDOLINS IN G MAJOR, TOMO 104, was undoubtedly caused by particular local circumstances or by obligations to influential amateurs to whom Vivaldi wanted to endear himself. In this connection, Vivaldi's friendly relations to Marchese Guido Bentivoglio in Ferrara may be mentioned. This nobleman was a mandolinist, and he was perhaps not the only one who cultivated this instrument in Ferrara, He certainly may have welcomed a concerto for two mandolins. Be that as it may, we must take it for granted that there were players at hand, say in Venice, Ferrara or elsewhere, who were capable of handling their instrument in a virtuoso-like manner. And Vivaldi gave them ample opportunity to show off. The solo passages of both the first Allegro and the finale amount to three-fifths of the respective movements and the Andante belongs to the mandolins from the beginning to the end...