Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Vivaldi: La Stravaganza (2011) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Of the new school of Italian authentic-instrument violinists who have moved the spotlight south from the Netherlands in High Baroque repertory, none has had more success than Fabio Biondi. There are more purely daring interpretations of Vivaldi, and more subtle ones. But Biondi and his handpicked Europa Galante ensemble send audiences away satisfied, even where historical performance remains a rarity. His performances are a great deal of fun, with big, booming outer movements taken at a breakneck clip that does nothing to impede his total mastery of the solos. In this excerpted set of concertos, published in London in 1728 as Vivaldi’s Op. 4, Bondi’s style is displayed with maximum effectiveness. The concertos have less obviously attractive tunes than the more famous L’estro armonico set or the Four Seasons concertos, replacing those with big blocks of sound that respond well to Biondi’s high-energy treatment. Sample especially the opening movement of the Violin Concerto in B flat major, RV 383a (track 1), where Europa Galante keeps up with Biondi in passagework that seems to distort the underlying pulse and take on its own rhythmic momentum. Plenty of thrills! An additional bonus is the presence of an unusual Concerto for violin, cello, strings, and continuo, RV 544, which features an invertible pair of solo parts (showing that Vivaldi could even do contrapuntal trickery when he set his mind to it). Virgin Classics’ sound in its Biondi discs has a live church acoustic that puts one in mind of an indoor swimming pool, and it may not be to everybody’s taste. In general, though, this is an excellent place to start for those curious about Biondi or even about the entire revolution that has overtaken the performance of High Baroque instrumental music.

Tracklist:
01. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in B Flat Major, RV 383a: I. Allegro (02:42)
02. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in B Flat Major, RV 383a: II. Largo e Cantabile (01:56)
03. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in B Flat Major, RV 383a: III. Allegro (02:36)
04. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Minor, RV 279 (from “La stravaganza”, Op. 4): I. Allegro (04:14)
05. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in E Minor, RV 279: II. Largo (02:23)
06. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in E Minor, RV 279: III. Allegro (03:16)
07. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in A Minor, RV 357: I. Allegro (02:48)
08. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Violin Concerto No. 4 in A Minor, RV 357 (from “La stravaganza”, Op. 4): II. Grave (02:11)
09. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in A Minor, RV 357: III. Allegro (02:37)
10. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in F Major, RV 284: I. Allegro (02:43)
11. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in F Major, RV 284: II. Largo (01:28)
12. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in F Major, RV 284: III. Allegro (02:32)
13. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in D Major, RV 204: I. Allegro (02:35)
14. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Violin Concerto No. 11 in D Major, RV 204 (from “La stravaganza”, Op. 4): II. Largo (01:24)
15. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza Op.4 No.9, Concerto in D Major, RV 204: III. Allegro assai (01:52)
16. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza: Concerto RV291 in F major: I. Allegro (03:04)
17. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza: Concerto RV291 in F major: II. Larghetto (02:27)
18. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – La Stravaganza: Concerto RV291 in F major: III. Allegro (03:12)
19. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Concerto for violin, cello and strings in F major, RV 544 ‘Proteo o sia il mondo al rovescio’: I. Allegro (03:54)
20. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Concerto for violin, cello and strings in F major, RV 544 ‘Proteo o sia il mondo al rovescio’: II. Largo (02:55)
21. Fabio Biondi,Europa Galante – Concerto for violin, cello and strings in F major, RV 544 ‘Proteo o sia il mondo al rovescio’: III. Allegro (03:24)