Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Fabio Biondi & Europa Galante

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Is there any way a violinist can make Vivaldi's Four Seasons not sound like elevator music nowadays? Judging by this release, the answer is "yes." Fabio Biondi leads his Europa Galante in crisp performances which do not distort the music either dynamically or rhythmically, and his playing is so clear, clean and clever that you'll hear new things amidst music you thought you, yourself, could play in your sleep. The storm is surprisingly stormy without being exaggerated, for instance, and the dance-like opening to Autumn is positively toe-tapping. The harpsichord which opens "Winter" is bone-chilling and the pizzicato strings in its second movement--taken quickly--are nicely brittle. Biondi emphasizes the lower strings elsewhere so that we experience a texture not often noticed, but obviously present. The CD is filled out with the almost equally famous "La tempersta del mare" concerto and three from "L'estro armonico," all played with the same determination and excellence. A glorious disc. --Robert Levine

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Largo
III. Allegro
I. Allegro Non Molto
II. Adagio-Presto
III. Presto
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegro
I. Allegro Non Molto
II. Largo
III. Presto
I. Presto
II. Largo
III. Presto
I. Allegro
II. Adagio E Spiccato
III. Allegro
IV. Largo E Spiccato
V. Allegretto
I. Allegro
II. Larghetto E Spiritoso
III. Allegro
I. Allegro
II. Largo E Spiccato
III. Allegro

Amazon.com

Is there any way a violinist can make Vivaldi's Four Seasons not sound like elevator music nowadays? Judging by this release, the answer is "yes." Fabio Biondi leads his Europa Galante in crisp performances which do not distort the music either dynamically or rhythmically, and his playing is so clear, clean and clever that you'll hear new things amidst music you thought you, yourself, could play in your sleep. The storm is surprisingly stormy without being exaggerated, for instance, and the dance-like opening to Autumn is positively toe-tapping. The harpsichord which opens "Winter" is bone-chilling and the pizzicato strings in its second movement--taken quickly--are nicely brittle. Biondi emphasizes the lower strings elsewhere so that we experience a texture not often noticed, but obviously present. The CD is filled out with the almost equally famous "La tempersta del mare" concerto and three from "L'estro armonico," all played with the same determination and excellence. A glorious disc. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Blown Away.......2007-02-01

There are hardly words that can describe this amazing recording.Yes, I too, stopped my car in order to absorb the moment of music. My congratulations to Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante, who possess an astonishingly unique ability to access the composer and the instrument. Bravo, triple bravo!

Excellent, imaginative interpretation.......2007-01-16

The first time I heard Fabio Biondi perform "The Four Seasons" on the radio, I did not recognize that this was the famous piece by Vivaldi - the interpretation was so original and the playing so incisive, that I thought that some more modern work was being performed (this was especially true of "Winter"). It seems that Biondi had thought through every note and nuance, so the end result is startingly original. I highly recommend this recording, even if you have other versions of "The Four Seasons".

Wow. Breathtaking........2006-11-15

Cannot help thinking Vivaldi would have loved this breathtaking rendition. Quite agree with other reviews. I too pulled off the road and scrambled to note down the recording details. Slight merging of notes as Mr.Alan Lekan notes is a minor flaw against other qualities of the recording. Simply has to heard. Bravo.

Even I can tell the difference.......2006-09-09

Everyone has already heard too much of "The Four Seasons," which comprise the first four of the set of 12 concerti presented here. At the same time, its ubiquity, coupled with its quality, makes it a necessary part of any classical starter collection. To cut to the chase: if you're going to have a classical collection, and if Vivaldi is to be part of it, make this the version you choose.

I am not an expert listener. I know little about music and can barely tell a fugue from a toccata. So I don't know what to make about complaints regarding the supposed liberties that Fabio Biondi takes with Vivaldi's written music, with the time signatures or with improvisations where they aren't called for. Nor can I comment regarding historically accurate performance practice vs. other ways of playing this music. What I do know is that even I can discern a difference - a vast, immeasurable gulf - between this music as it is played here by Biondi and his ensemble, Europa Galante, and this music as I've heard it played by anyone else. These concertos are played crisply, with an exciting sense of rhythm that makes the music seem to bounce; to take one example for comparison, Ozawa's Four Seasons on Telarc seems limp, rhythmically soft, and frankly boring. One is elevator music; the other, music to listen to.

Unless you're the sort of highly discriminating, perhaps anal-retentive connoisseur of Baroque music who can afford to nitpick Biondi and Europa Galante for their stylistic transgressions, this is the Vivaldi you need to hear. Even an ignoramus like me can tell the difference.

Knocked my socks off!.......2006-03-24

The playing of this rendition of The Four Seasons made me pull off the road just to listen. Once you hear this recording you'll fall in love with The Four Seasons all over again. It makes a great gift too.

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; String Concertos (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; String Concertos (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Opus 111
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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Vivaldi: Concerti per mandolini

ASIN: B00005R2JM
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Average customer rating:

Highly Disappointing...
I'm not an expert on classical music...
Terrible recordings of great songs.
Massive Classics: Music You Can't Relax To

Massive Classics

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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25 Thunderous Classics
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Dies Irae-The Essential Choral Collection

ASIN: B00008H2KO
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

Dies Irae - Riccardo Muti
Polovtsian Dance No.4 - Charles Mackerras
The Kinghts' Dance (Excerpt) - Libor Pesek
O Fortuna - David Hill
Sabre Dance - Ingo Metzmacher
Ride Of The Valkyries - Berliner Philhamoniker
Summer (Presto) - Europa Galante
Mambo - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Introduction - London Symphony Orchestra
Marche 1.28 - Orchestre De L'Opera De Lyon
In The Hall Of The Mountain King - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Mars, The Bringer Of War - Charles Mackerras
Fanfare For The Common Man - Carl Davis
Danse Infernale - London Symphony Orchestra
The Hut On Hen's Legs - Charles Mackerras
The Heroes' Gate At Kiev - Charles Mackerras
Rumble (Excerpt) - Edo De Waart
Scherzo/Allegro (Excerpt) - Andrew Litton
Bolero (Excerpt) - Libor Pesek
IV. Allegro - Roger Norrington

Customer Reviews:

Highly Disappointing..........2007-04-08

I picked this CD up in the bookstore after listening to it. I'm a big fan of the powerful classics, such as Carmina Burana O Fortuna, and, of course, Verdi's Dies Irae. I already owned those two pieces as well as a few others when I purchased this album. I had figured if they were on it, it was going to be one impressive CD.

I knew something was wrong the moment I started listening to it. Like others have mentioned, the musicmanship is poor. It sounds rushed most of the time. Plus, I compared Massive Classic's versions of Verdi's Dies Irae to the version I already had, and no way do they stand up. One sounded professional, practiced, and powerful. The other, on this CD: wimpy, weak, and lacking.

This CD couldn't take the time to get the best performances of these classics. Don't waste your time listening to it. Find a different album--there are better ones. My suggestions is The Greatest Choral Show on Earth, which features performances from the world's best orchestras and choirs.

I'm not an expert on classical music..........2006-03-08

But MAN do I love this CD! It's fantastic. Most of the songs you've heard from various movies or television shows, and now they're finally all together. I love listening to it while I drive - I find that I don't scream at traffic as much.

Terrible recordings of great songs........2003-12-20

The song selecting is awesome, but the performances and recordings (or the remastering) are awful. The balance seems off (very tinny sound), and the musicianship is weak (Vivaldi's "Summer" sounds like eigth-notes!).

NOTE: this review is for my CD from the BMG music club. I don't know if the CDs are different from what Amazon sells.

Massive Classics: Music You Can't Relax To.......2003-11-19

Exciting and Inspiring! So good my uncle is keeping my CD after he 'borrowed' it, and I have to buy another copy. And I hope it comes soon! Fun to listen to during rush hour traffic!

Bella Italia: The Golden Age of Italian Baroque Music

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Bella Italia: The Golden Age of Italian Baroque Music

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ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

Les Quatre Saisons: Con in F Op.8 No.3, RV 293 'L'Automne': Allegro - Adagio - La Caccia - Fabio Biondi
Villanelle: Lucia, Ciel! Ah, Ah, Coquine - M. Piccinini/R. Balconi/S. Naglia/Foresti
Con No.8 in g 'Con De Noel': Vivace - Grave - Allegro - Adagio - Allegro - Adagio - Vivace... - Fabio Biondi
Tarentelle Napolitaine (Cant Pour La Nativite) - R. Invernizzi/R. Andalo/D. Del Monaco/G. De Vittorio/R. Totaro/F. Zanasi
Son in g, Op.1 No.10 'Didon Abandonee': Affetuoso - Presto - Allegro - F. Biondi/R. Alessandrini/M. Naddeo
VIIIeme Livre Des Madrigaux: Lamento De La Nymphe - R. Bertini/S. Naglia/G. Maletto/D. Carnovich/V. Ghielmi/A. Damiani
Con in E, RV 281: Allegro - Largo - Allegro - Fabio Biondi

Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons)

Average customer rating:

Good but not my favourite...
the one to choose
Nothing prepared me for this!
extra creamy
rich creamy goodness

Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons)

Manufacturer: Opus 111
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

The Four Seasons: Spring - Concert In E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 26: Allegro
The Four Seasons: Spring: Spring - Concert In E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 26: Largo e pianissimo
The Four Seasons: Spring: Spring - Concert In E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 26: Danza pastorale. Allegro
The Four Seasons: Summer: Summer - Concert In G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315: Allegro
The Four Seasons: Summer: Summer - Concert In G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315: : Adagio
The Four Seasons: Summer: Summer - Concert In G Minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315: Tempo impetuoso d'Estate
The Four Seasons: Autumn: Autumn - Concert in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293: Allegro
The Four Seasons: Autumn: Autumn - Concert in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293: Adagio
The Four Seasons: Autumn: Autumn - Concert in F Major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293: La Caccia
The Four Seasons: Winter: Winter - Concert In F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297: Allegro non molto
The Four Seasons: Winter: Winter - Concert In F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297: Largo
The Four Seasons: Winter: Winter - Concert In F Minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297: Allegro
Concerto In C Major: Concert In C Major, RV 171: Allegro
Concerto In C Major: Concert In C Major, RV 171: Largo
Concerto In C Major: Concert In C Major, RV 171: Allegro non molto
Concerto per archi: Concert In B Flat Major: Allegro molto marcato
Concerto per archi: Concert In B Flat Major: Andante
Concerto per archi: Concert In B Flat Major: Allegro molto

Amazon.com

This recording of The Four Seasons sold something like 50 billion copies in France. Now, I know that's not necessarily a recommendation. After all, this is the country that thinks Jerry Lewis is America's greatest film star. But in this case, they have a point, because here is a sensational recording of the fabulous Four. The secret of making a great new recording of music that you've heard until it drives you crazy lies in the performers' ability to make the music sound fresh. That's exactly what Biondi and his forces do. To listen to this record is to realize that classical music is what it says it is--great art that constantly reveals something new when subjected to vibrant and original interpretation. One more for the CD shelf! --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Good but not my favourite..........2000-04-25

this recording is good....but i only find the spring concerto on top form in this album...I actually like the summer finale....and the winter finale.... but I found the album sounded very mucky at times...the first movement of winter...my favourite piece in the world was very very dissappointing...not enough life and passion in it. And on another note the four seasons sound best in modern pitch...as in vivaldi's time, northern italy had a pitch closer to today's than the lower pitch of ther rest of europe....the key is very importatnt in depicting moods and this recording was made when most people thought all of europe had a lower pitch. Out of the authentic instrument recordings that i have my favourite is the nils-erik sparf (which is however in the lower pitch) the others being this one and the one by il giardino armonico. However in his other vivaldi recordings especially of L'estro armonico biondi is stunning....

the one to choose.......2000-04-25

I have a large music collection (over 10,000 recordings) and have heard most of the "name" versions of this work. While I must admit, I have outgrown some of my enthusiasm for the 4-seasons due to the number of times it is played, this performance demands hearing. It is breathtaking. Indeed, when it was first released, I ranked it as my favorite album of the year. At the price, it can't be beat.

Nothing prepared me for this!.......2000-02-05

H.C.Robbins Landon has written that the Four Seasons is now the most often heard piece of music in the world. And why not? It's pleasant enough stuff, but not exactly heavyweight.

Fabio Biondi shoots that theory to pieces. He and his band have given us a Seasons so passionate and so powerful, that it will be impossible ever again to think of Vivaldi as a lightweight. This is, as they say, the real deal.

extra creamy.......2000-01-18

probably the most expressive version i've ever heard. biondi is really amazing.

rich creamy goodness.......1999-11-27

if youre favorite movement is the excellent summer 3 (presto) then you may be disappointed. for the most part biondi goes for all out speed at the price of depth, and some of the more interesting parts of the movement are drowned out by the wailing harpsicord. its still a very interesting interpretation (i just like others better eg mutter or accardo). the movement is only really only disappointing in comparison to the rest of the disc, though.

the 3 summers are in general mostly highly inventive and expressive, often technically astounding. spring 2 is played *unbelievably* well. very emotive and as creamy as it can possibly be. it is one of the best played movements in all the classical i know. the autumn movements have always struck me as a bit haughty. but biondi makes them more than tolerable, and now i must reconsider my whole take on them. the first movement of winter is genius. the set of winter movements together makes more brilliant interpretive twists and turns than i can count.

if it wasnt for the not-that-great presto movement, id put my money on this disc as the best 4 seasons nomologically possible. it's probably the best disc out now, though i havent heard annie-sophie mutter's seasons (outside the presto, that is).

Vivaldi:Four Seasons/String Concertos
Average customer rating:
Vivaldi:Four Seasons/String Concertos
Fabio Biondi
Manufacturer: Opus 111
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00009QNT8
Release Date: 2003-07-01