La Stravaganza - 12 Violin Concertos (LP)

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Violinist Rachel Podger is joined by Arte Dei Suonatori for this recording of 12 violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. 'The performances by Rachel Podger are crackling with vitality and executed with consistent brilliance as well as a kind of relish in virtuosity that catches the showy spirit, the self-conscious extravagance, of this particular set of works. There are plenty of movements here where her sheer digital dexterity is astonishing... but perhaps even more I enjoyed the exquisitely fine detail of some of the slow movements, for example No. 8 in D minor... that one has a performance to leave you breathless. Another thing Podger is specially good at is the shaping of those numerous passages of Vivaldian sequences, which can be drearily predictable, but aren't so here because she knows just how to control the rhythmic tension and time the climax and resolution with logic and force. I would certainly recommend this set as a fine example of a modern view of Baroque performance.' - Gramophone