This is the sixth disc of Vivaldi concertos to have been recorded by the violinist Shlomo Mintz and the Israel Chamber Orchestra under his direction. It is, on balance, perhaps the most interesting of them since not only are the six pieces included here hitherto unrepresented in any catalogue that I know of, but the music is consistent in the varied delights it offers the listener. Mintz, furthermore has hit on the charming idea of assembling six concertos which Vivaldi intended expressly at one time or another for his gifted pupil, Anna Maria at the Pieta in Venice. If the music is anything to go by then Signora Anna Maria must have been prodigiously talented; much of the music here is of a markedly virtuoso character and of enormous appeal, melodic and rhythmic.
Mintz himself does considerable justice to the works, effortlessly surmounting the technical difficulties posed by Vivaldi's writing. Above all, though, I admire his spirited approach and the wholehearted enthusiasm with which he throws himself into the playful invention, often strikingly varied, of the outer movements. One of the most arresting of these provides the finale of the Concerto in A major, RV349. I first became acquainted with it in its vocal clothes as Gilade's Act Three aria, ''Scherza l'aura lusinghiera'' in Vivaldi's opera Farnace. Its robust 2/4 character has a strong and immediate appeal and I have listened to it with enchantment many times over. In strong contrast with movements such as that are several tenderly spoken slow movements, one of them belonging to the Concerto in D minor, RV248, untypically constructed in alternating slow and fast measures. And, of course, there are many characteristic passages of arpeggios, bariolage and other idiomatic devices which are essential components of the Vivaldian muse.
My only reservation, a small one, lies in the recorded sound which has a slight hollowness, especially noticeable in slow movements and in passages where the solo violin is accompanied solely by cello and keyboard continuo. Otherwise a captivating issue containing music which even the most assiduous Vivaldi enthusiasts may not have heard.
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