Yet another Four Seasons; considering Bell is probably the hottest male violinist around today, sales should be good. His treatment of the Vivaldi chestnut is a nice compromise between the wildest attack of ensembles such as Carmignola’s and Biondi’s and the old-fashioned straight-laced classical approach. The chamber orchestra has a rich and full sound and Bell’s violin is well-placed without being in your face.
The choice of the Tartini Sonata is also a pleasant one instead of the usual additional Vivaldi concertos. A nice touch with the album is a set of four separate illustrated cards, each containing the original descriptive sonnet for each of the four seasons in both Italian and a new English translation. Thank God we didn’t have to sit thru Meryl Streep or Bill Clinton reading each of the sonnets prior to hearing each concerto…
– John Sunier
