Antonio Vivaldi – Die 6 Flötenkonzerte op.10

I’m very glad I have the opportunity to convert my LPs (somebody’s lent me his usb record player for six months), for here’s another surprise. This well-known Philips recording, re-released in the Philips Classics 2cd series, is another marvel. For its age, the sound of this record is breathtaking.
By the way, it strikes me Philips vinyl seems to retain its quality quite well over the years, better than most other labels’. Alright, I’m being chauvinistic here.

I almost decided to leave this one completely untouched. However, living in the digital age, we aren’t used to hearing the steady noise of a needle quietly sailing the grooves anymore. So, eventually I applied a de-hiss/crackle, but only very slightly.

No need to comment on the music, I doubt there’s a soul left among the classical lovers on this board who doesn’t know Vivaldi’s flute concertos. Indeed, most of you will know this particular release from the above-mentioned 2cd Philips Classics.
I think they are among his most exciting concertos. Of course, Vivaldi at his best rocks harder than the whole bunch of ’50/’60-ties Rock & Roll artists put together, the Rolling Stones on top of it. My Lord, testosteron is racing through his music like a champion greyhound at high speed, and one wonders if the pious priest waved anything else but his conductor’s baton at the dainty girls under his musical guidance.
Er..what did I say there? Excuse me for the bawdy suggestion. I am sure Vivaldi’s music is a sincere and heroic case of perfected sublimation. He was a man of God, after all. And a genius.

I Musici
Severino Gazzelloni – Flute
Maria Teresa Garatti - Cembalo

Tracks

1. s1-1 - Concerto no. 1 F-dur - La Tempesta di Mare
2. s1-2 - Concerto no. 2 g-moll - La Notte
3. s1-3 - Concerto no. 3 D-dur - il Cardellino
4. s2-1 - Concerto no. 4 G-dur RV 435
5. s2-2 - Concerto no. 5 F-dur RV 434
6. s2-3 - Concerto no. 6 G-dur RV 437