This set of four two-violin concertos plus a single short but arresting ripieno concerto doesn't contain a single one of Vivaldi's big hits, but each one of the four duo works contains new wrinkles in the relationship between the soloists. Vivaldi exploited the virtuoso talents of the young female students under his tuition at the Ospedale della Pietà, neither a hospital nor an orphanage, but a place for the Venetian upper crust to stash the offspring of its illicit affairs. Several of these works almost seem to be framed ...
Read More
This set of four two-violin concertos plus a single short but arresting ripieno concerto doesn't contain a single one of Vivaldi's big hits, but each one of the four duo works contains new wrinkles in the relationship between the soloists. Vivaldi exploited the virtuoso talents of the young female students under his tuition at the Ospedale della Pietà, neither a hospital nor an orphanage, but a place for the Venetian upper crust to stash the offspring of its illicit affairs. Several of these works almost seem to be framed as competitions between the two soloists (sample right at the beginning of the Concerto for two violins in C major, RV 507), and the chief attraction of this recording is the control of the violinists, veteran Vivaldi specialist Giuliano Carmignola and Gli Incogniti director Amandine Beyer, who seem alert to every twist in the music and handle everything Vivaldi throws at them. Part of the credit goes to Beyer's direction; the complexity of the relationship between the soloists is...
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.