Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni

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Part of the freshness stems from the interaction between Podger and her one-to-a-part ensemble. She’s first among equals and the dynamic couldn’t be further removed from the usual notion of the... — BBC Music Magazine, June 2018, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 20th Apr 2018
Catalogue No: CCSSA40318
Label: Channel
Length: 75 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

13th April 2018
Gramophone Magazine

May 2018

Editor's Choice
BBC Music Magazine

June 2018

Concerto Choice
Record Review

21st April 2018

Recording of the Week
Gramophone Awards

2018

Shortlisted - Concerto
Presto Recordings of the Year

Winner 2018
Diapason d’Or

June 2018

Nouveauté

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Spring, RV269

Work length9:53

$3.00

$4.50

$6.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro

Track length3:24

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Largo e pianissimo

Track length2:41

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Allegro

Track length3:48

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Summer, RV315

Work length10:08

$3.00

$4.50

$6.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro mà non molto

Track length5:17

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Adagio

Track length2:01

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Presto

Track length2:50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Autumn, RV293

Work length10:41

$3.00

$4.50

$6.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro

Track length5:15

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Adagio molto

Track length2:20

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Allegro

Track length3:06

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Winter, RV297

Work length9:12

$3.00

$4.50

$6.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro non molto

Track length3:18

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Largo

Track length2:15

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Allegro

Track length3:39

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Vivaldi: Concerto for strings 'Il riposo - per il Santissimo Natale', RV 270

Work length7:38

$3.00

$4.50

$6.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro

Track length4:06

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Adagio

Track length1:05

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Allegro

Track length2:27

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E major, RV271 'L'Amoroso'

Work length10:35

$3.00

$4.50

$6.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro

Track length4:31

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Cantabile

Track length2:30

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Allegro

Track length3:34

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

Vivaldi: Concerto for Violin "Il Grosso Mogul" in D major RV 208

Work length17:10

$3.50

$5.30

$7.15

Rachel Podger
Brecon Baroque

I. Allegro

Track length5:37

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

II. Grave - Recitativo

Track length2:53

$1.00

$1.50

$2.05

III. Allegro

Track length8:40

$1.50

$2.30

$3.05

About
Reviews
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About

Interview, Rachel Podger on The Four Seasons

21st April 2018

The violinist, whose previous recordings of Vivaldi have won widespread critical acclaim, talks to Katherine about taking on the 'Red Priest''s most popular work.

Recording of the Week, Vivaldi's Four Seasons from Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque

13th April 2018

The British violinist breathes new life into the most popular of baroque violin concerti with these vivid one-per-part accounts which exude wit and affection.

What better music than Vivaldi’s ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ to start the celebration of Rachel’s 50th birthday year! Together with the star players of Brecon Baroque, Rachel guides you through the seasons of nature and life.

Producer Jonathan Freeman-Attwood: ‘The irresistible characterpieces that pit solo violin against string ensemble in Vivaldi’s ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ have reached the ears of millions over the last few generations.

Most recordings adopt a strikingly similar approach to the scores, and familiarity has blunted the music’s edge: we have passed the point of rediscovery and have stopped listening intently to the freshness of Vivaldi’s invention.

Working with Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque has been an object lesson in starting anew and identifying the ingredients which make ‘Le Quattro Stagioni’ great works. Virtuosity is non-negotiable here and Rachel has it in abundance. But it’s the colour, poetry, vibrancy and evocative characterisation of weather, human warmth and fragility, captured by the dynamic flux of Rachel interlocking with her colleagues in Brecon Baroque, that deliver near-unimaginable qualities in this music.

With two other deeply evocative works and that great ‘bull’ of a concerto, ‘Il Grosso Mogul’, the experience is kaleidoscopic in the capacity of a single-part string band to press the boundaries of intimacy and, at the same time, to produce visceral fortes as dramatic as you’ll here in any larger group. The musical range is sensational and matched all the way by Jared Sacks’s luminous and emotionally engaged recorded sound.’

Reviews

June 2018

Part of the freshness stems from the interaction between Podger and her one-to-a-part ensemble. She’s first among equals and the dynamic couldn’t be further removed from the usual notion of the concerto as a vehicle for the all-conquering soloist…it’s striking just how many soloistic opportunities Vivaldi offers the ensemble…Musical details are incisively etched.

7th April 2018

[Podger] with a select group of eight musicians, one to each part. So far from sounding spartan, this releases a freedom and buoyancy in the playing that is quite delightful. The "nymphs and shepherds" dance in "Spring" with the lightest of steps. The horses gallop along in the "Autumn" hunt with a joyous, almost Disney-like cartoon bounce. The playing is high quality throughout and three more Vivaldi concertos, each as characterful in its own right, make up an enjoyable disc.

May 2018

It’s not just that the actual playing is superb: serene virtuoso fluency from Podger, gorgeously supported by her colleagues...It’s also that this is something genuinely, effortlessly and naturally different...I’ve never heard their every twist and turn served up as quite the succession of changing sound worlds as appears here.

13th April 2018

Podger’s approach is considerably more fine-boned than most, which is as much down to the choices about phrasing, tempi and articulation as it is to the forces deployed: Spring is ushered in with gentleness and grace... This is The Seasons as chamber-music rather than virtuoso war-horse, and the synergy between Podger and her tiny band is matchless.

15th April 2018

Podger’s Midas touch makes even a warhorse such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons sound fresh-minted. She and her Brecon players see these concertos not as orchestral but as chamber music. Yet there is no lack of power in the big tuttis...This Vivaldi has an improvisatory quality, making you listen with cleansed ears.

20th April 2018

Why consider another recording? The answer lies in many things: Podger’s bouncy phrasing and clarity, myriad subtleties in textures and dynamics, the kindliness of a recording that, unlike some, allows the music and its reverberations to breathe...There’s also the exquisite balance of parts shared between Podger’s eight-strong ensemble.

Videos

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Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni

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Contents

Interview, Rachel Podger on The Four Seasons

Recording of the Week, Vivaldi's Four Seasons from Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque

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