I Solisti Delle Settimane Internazionali di Napoli

Salvatore Accardo, I Solisti Delle Settimane Internazionali di Napoli – Vivaldi: The Four Seasons – Concertos for 3 & 4 violins (1987/2022)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:04:00 minutes | 2,52 GB | Genre: Classical
Source: SACD | Artwork: Front cover | © Decca

A Tribute to Stradivari:
“During the period of his apprenticeship in Nicola Amati’s workshop, Stradivari began to modify the form of the instruments he was constructing, first by reducing the dimensions of the arching and then – during a period of intense experimentation – by changing the position of the sound-holes, the dimensions of the entire resonance chamber, the working of the scroll, the thickness of the wood, and, most important, the chemical composition of the varnish coating.

“But it is at the beginning of the new century that his violins attain their greatest elegance of design and best sound quality: this ‘golden age’ saw not only the perfection of formal design and choice of dimensions, but also extreme care in the choice and treatment of materials, so that a quality and ease of sound production was achieved that, even today, remains a paragon for violin-makers and is highly regarded by the most famous violinists.

“Some of the most splendid of these instruments have been chosen by Salvatore Accardo for this concert of music by Vivaldi recorded live at the fifth Cremona Festival. In particular, Accardo has decided to highlight the qualities peculiar to some of them by allowing them to be heard as solo instruments one after the other in the famous series of four concertos by Vivaldi, “Le quattro stagioni.” Taken from the collection “Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’invenzione,” Op. 8, these concertos may be regarded as Vivaldi’s most serious attempt to obtain new sonorities and variety of effects within the traditional form of the concerto gross; thus they represent the perfect showcase for the sound qualities of the solo instruments.” – from liner notes by Luca Tutino: English translation by Michael Ferris

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