Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Carlo Monza :: Improvisata: Sinfonie con titoli

53 Minutes

Biberfan | Virginia, USA | 06/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before I listened, I was sore that the recording was only 53 minutes long. Yes, I would have valued a few filler sinfonias. But.. be forewarned: the music on this CD is rich and colorful.



You get your money's worth.



Europa Galante have never sounded so good... horns... multiple double-basses, and an excellent acoustic. The ensemble is held together with precise control.



Interestingly enough, I found the Vivaldi work a snoozer... If you bought IGA's account of Boccherini's Casa del Diavolo, this one is even better.



5 * * * * *"

Baroque Bandshell Music

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 11/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Not a ripple of musical profundity disturbs the surface of this program of 18th C 'sinfonie'. If the Boston Pops abandoned their modern horns and strings to perform on "original instruments" in the Piazza of San Marco, this is the program they might select. I'm tempted to chide Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante for offering such a brief concert of such jolly bagatelles, when so much vastly more challenging music by the same composers is still unavailable. Did they expect somehow to tap into the CD racks of Wal-Mart and make a killing?



On the other hand, these five sinfonie are extremely well-composed and artful in their superficiality, especially the "house of the devil" by Luigi Boccherini. And Europa Galante is surely the most masterful Italian Baroque ensemble since the Italian Baroque, so the music is much better played than it deserves. For that reason, I'm stamping four stars of approval on the disk, so long as the buyer is forewarned about what she/he will be hearing."