Product Description An outstanding collaboration between Russian virtuoso violinist Viktoria Mullova and top Italian baroque band Il Giardino Armonico, in five of the most virtuoso Vivaldi violin concertos. Working together for two years before this recording was made, it's thrilling, passionate, vibrant stuff which will make you sit up and listen with fresh ears. Already awarded Gramophone Editor's Choice (July 2005) this CD looks set to garner many more awards Review Mullova is no stranger to gut strings and period performance she did it memorably in her Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos with Gardiner (Philips, reviewed August 2003), and now shes teamed up with one of the most sparkling of the Baroque bands around. They have the first word with their vigorous attack in the D major concerto (RV 208), and when Mullova enters, she pushes the tempo even more urgently. In the slow movement, she weaves arabesques around the highly decorated lute and harpsichord continuo with a rubato that s free and natural, before the finale sees a return to the energy of the opening. Three of the violinists from the ensemble join her in the B minor concerto, making a splendid team, unanimous in rhythm and ornamentation, and in lightness of attack in the central section of the slow movement. For the other three concertos, Mullovas on her own. The C major is the least exciting, with some formulaic sequences in its outer movements. But the D major (RV 234) has a delightful unpredictability about some of the harmonic progressions, and throughout the disc there s never any lack of interest in the texture of the music, with variety of articulation and dynamic from the strings and weight in the continuo. The recording is bright and consistently detailed. ***** --BBC Music Magazine P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); From the Artist I feel this is my best ever disc. Playing with Il Giardino Armonico is a dream come true.They have been my idols for years. They're quite extreme, not at all boring Baroque music! There are no rules for them - they're always experimenting, always fresh, never stale. Sometimes they sound like a rock band. Their director Giovanni Antonini inspires every musician there. The whole group records standing up. It completely felt like a performance; we recorded whole movements, never bit by bit. See more
P**9
Viktoria Mullova - Violin Concertos
Product arrived when promised and was as described. I cannot review the product as it was a present to someone else.
E**.
Words Fail Me
Since having seen and heard Viktoria Mullova play the Chaconne by J.S.Bach in the international round-the-clock Bach jubileum concert on TV some ten years ago I have trusted Mullova more, when it comes to baroque music, than most other violinists not specialized in it. She plays most wonderfully here on this CD, too. Then there is Il Giardino Armonico enchanting me totally. The orchestra plays with a superb joy, energy and vivacity that hit me from the first bars and had me dancing on my chair when I first listened to this CD, and the fascination has continued and driven me to search for more recordings by them. How flat my words sound, compared to their playing. This is a record you want to hear over and over again. It makes your life feel lighter, and it makes you burst with joy to be able to share this delight with somebody dear.
S**R
Viktoria is in Stunning Form
If you needed any proof that Viktoria Mullova has returned from her brief sebatical in spectacular form - this new cd with Il Giardino Armonica is it! If you have never experienced Viktoria's incredible talent with the violin then you really are missing out.
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