Stefano Montanari, Paolo Grazzi, Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone - Vivaldi: Il Cimento dell'Armonia e dell'Inventione op. VIII (2001)

This set conveniently boxes up excellent performances of Vivaldi's two most popular works. Il Cimento dell'Armonia e dell'Inventione contains not just The Four Seasons, but also such popular concertos as La Caccia, Il Piacere, and La Tempesta di Mare. L'Estro Armonico, on the other hand, is less well known in terms of its individual numbers, but is just as highly regarded (if not more so) as a whole. It's particularly noteworthy for the concertos featuring more than a single soloist--anywhere up to four--and in its prodigal invention and melodic charm it stands with Vivaldi's finest work. Bach admired these pieces, as his Vivaldi transcriptions and arrangements clearly demonstrate.

These performances strike a fine compromise between rough-edged "authenticity" (offered by some of the more radical period-instrument groups) and sensible musical values such as attractive tone, good intonation, and judicious balances between the string orchestra and continuo. Each of the "four seasons" concertos is well-characterized, with plenty of energy in the outer movements and a welcome sweetness and grace in between. The concertos for four violins in Op. 3 (Nos. 1, 4, 7, and 10) are particularly happy in their collaboration between the various soloists, and overall the sound is very good. If you're looking for Vivaldi's best collections of concertos in one convenient package, I can recommend these performances without hesitation. -- David Hurwitz