VIVALDI: Four Seasons; GEMINIANI: Concerto Grosso No. 4 in F; No. 12 in D minor, “La Folia” – Christina Day Martinson, violin/ Boston Baroque/ Martin Pearlman, conductor – Telarc Multichannel SACD 60698, 59:26 ****:
Not another one, you may ask? After all, the last few months have seen new Seasons discs by Sarah Chang, Joshua Bell, and a few other lesser lights. The last few years even more, a lot more. So why now? I guess from Telarc’s standpoint it was long overdue. Their only other recording is by Joseph Silverstein with Ozawa and the Boston Symphony, though that one has now been remastered on a two-channel SACD. As far as other competitors to the DSD surround format, there are only a few of significance. Janine Jansen released one of Decca that is spectacularly played, yet uses only a quintet, ruining the nature of the concertos for me, though I must again emphasize the excellence of the playing. Isaac Stern’s old recording has been released in SACD surround by Sony, but it plays only on a SACD player and was never anything to write home about. The first six concertos of Op. 8 are given on a beautiful Arts disc, with stunning sound. But that’s about it, amazingly so.
So there is room for a disc of these tried and true in SA format, and this one will fit the bill nicely. However, it is a period instrument band, and Ms. Martinson plays sans vibrato most of the time and espouses the usual period instrument touches, so you know right off whether you like this or not. But, as we discovered on Hogwood’s Seasons CD from so many years ago, the advantage of period instruments in this music is that they make so many of the chirpy little sounds present in Vivaldi’s poetic descriptions (in the notes) come forth in a way that the more traditional settings (including the aforementioned brand new Bell and Chang readings) avoid. However there are some things which recommend this release beyond the usual; Boston Baroque employs an 18-member orchestra, so the string sound is decently bold and full, and for once Pearlman uses tempos that are actually sensible, not rushed, and playfully pungent in a way that reflects the natural flow of the music. Ms. Martinson has full control of this piece and does not shy away from the trickier aspects of the work, bringing some new interpretative variances besides simply raw, fast speed—absent for the most part here, beyond what is required.
The sound is all you could ask for, nicely surrounded, and the filler of the Geminiani concertos are wonderfully done, though I could have wished for a couple more with 20 minutes left on the disc. This won’t displace my favorites of the past, but it definitely goes to the top of the heap in surround recordings.
— Steven Ritter
