An innovator and a revolutionary composer, its thanks to the Red Priest that the solo concerto made its way through Europe, influencing the likes of J. S. Bach and Handel and the subsequent course of music history. Published in 1714 (or 1716 as most scholars today tend to believe) and reprinted illegally numerous times in pre-copyright Europe, La Stravaganza, Op. 4 contains 12 solo concertos which can be defined as unsurpassed models of their kind, and the manifesto of Vivaldis aesthetic. The twelve vibrant, high-voltage concertos are played on period instruments and directed by one of the worlds most noted Vivaldi experts, Federico Maria Sardelli, with his baroque ensemble Modo Antiquo. Sardelli is a versatile and gifted artist - painter, prize-winning novelist, two-time GRAMMY® Award nominee, and of course a conductor, composer and musicologist. He has been in charge of the Vivaldi catalogue (the Ryom Vivaldi-Werkverzeichnis) since 2007. Russian violinist Anton Martynov completes the remarkable cast in a set of outstanding performances.