The new Instants Classiques (Classical Moments) series on France's Naïve label offers near-ideal budget releases of mostly Baroque works, freshly reinterpreted by some of the authentic-instrument European ensembles that have been remaking the sound of Baroque music over the last 15 years. No Baroque work is more familiar than
Vivaldi's set of four programmatic violin concertos known as the Four Seasons, yet firebrand Italian violinist
Fabio Biondi and his
Europa Galante will make you feel as though you're hearing them for the first time in this recording, originally released on the Opus 111 label.
Biondi's tempi are fast indeed in the outer movements, and he pushes some of
Vivaldi's illustrative episodes into a realm of crescendi and descrescendi that's mighty unusual. And he ornaments the music freely. But his expressive devices are never Romantic -- they come off as full-blooded, passionate responses to the music, and they never seem to violate the spirit. Sample the first-movement thunderstorm of the "Summer" concerto (track 4) for an idea of what you're getting into here -- and you may find yourself ordering everything
Biondi has ever issued. The complaints here are minor -- the sound, from 1991, is rather harsh; the instrumentalists are recorded so close up that there is a good deal of extraneous noise; and the booklet commentary is very sparse. Nevertheless, this is an excellent first choice for the Four Seasons -- or a worthwhile acquisition for someone who already has many versions.