Ricardo Kubala Marit Laugen Kristin Reigstad - Vivaldi The Four SeasonsTartini The Devils Trill (16 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

Deutsche Grammophon adopts MTV culture

yigala | Israel | 12/09/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Someone in DG has done a terrific job. This album will sell millions, and the quality of the music is not an issue at all. Anne Sophie Mutter has taken the same path as Pavarotti and Bocelli, and crossed the lines into pop culture. I don't think this is too bad, but if you are reading CD reviews, then you're probably a serious listener, and want to get a decent performance.Mutter's 4 seasons is good, some movements even excellent, but let's face it: nobody plays Italian baroque like that anymore. This CD wouldn't have been published if it hadn't been for Mutter's great looks.However, as Mr. Gammelgaard mentioned in his review, there is one performance which dwarfs all the rest: Il Giardino Armonico (Teldec) - An amazing, authentic baroque performance. It's a part of a magnificent set of concerti by Vivaldi. You won't regret spending a two-full-price amount on it.Don't fall for cheap pop design!"

Great fun!

Jill Tan | Singapore | 11/17/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is best listened in comparison with Mutter's earlier recording of the Four Seasons with von Karajan: one feels that the old recording was the work of the dutiful protege, playing a technically perfect piece with the maestro, while this new recording, on the other hand, casts away all stuffy inhibitions. One can almost hear Mutter saying to Von Karajan, "Well, I did that textbook recording with you, but now let me do it MY WAY." And what fun "her way" turns out to be, with the music pulsating with energy and vibrancy at every twist. Sure, the pace sometimes seems irregular and temperamental, but the sheer fun the musicians are having simply shines through. The tones are rich, the turns of phrase unusual, and every note is heartfelt. The fast movements are vintage Mutter, with all the necessary devilry intact, while the slow passages are filled with an emotion that did not seem present in the old recording with von Karajan. If this is the new Mutter, I can't wait to hear more!"

Judge it on its own merits

D. B. Rathbun | Washington, DC United States | 02/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anne Sophie will sell many copies of this album, true. The interpretation is shocking, unorthodox, true. The playing is very strong, especially for baroque, true. Are these reasons to hate this album? Perhaps, but that's not even a mater of opinion, rather merely of politics. Any way you slice it, this recording is unique. It's certainly not a particularly authentic or faithful rendition of Vivaldi's work, but it is certainly different from everything else out there. Moreover, the playing is good, precise, and the recording is well balanced and technically well done. I personally have multiple recordings of the 4 Seasons, precisely because each of them brings something different to the work. Authentic performances highlight different parts of the scoring and ornamentation, and modern orchestras simply have technologically superior violins with fuller, lush sound, and create performances with more force and expressiveness. Anne Sophie's recording is all new, it's living music. At times, it's raw and forceful, and at times it's serene, and in many regards exceeds the levels of both that other recordings achive. Some may think it goes too far at times, and I would almost include myself among those folk. I've listened to it several times, but I'm not going to buy it--it doesn't add much more for me to the 3 recordings I already have (one authentic performance, one really good modern performance with a chamber orchestra, and one with a really good soloist), since each of the three I have include passages that are particularly aggressive, particularly serene, or particularly well played. I commend the recording, however, and I'm glad I heard it.
Additionally, I would point out that Europa Galante just released an authentic instrument performance of not just the 4 seasons, but the entire Cimenta dell'armonia e dell'inventione, the larger work that the seasons concerti are part of. The performance is nuanced and innovative, quite unlike any other reading."

An artist in her prime

NotATameLion | Michigan | 02/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You won't find many recordings of the famed Red Priest's masterpiece that can match this one. I'd put Shaham with the Orpheus CO (also on DG) in the same ballpark, but I know of no recording that reaches the levels of beauty and improvisational flare found on this recording. Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Trondheim soloists have given us a Four Seasons for the ages.First, the obvious-Mutter wants us to "hear" this disc with our eyes. The accompanying notes are filled with the art of Gotthard Graubner as well as some lovely photos of Mutter. While some people seem to have a problem with this "commercialism," I do not (icing on the cake if you ask me).Now, to the actual music-let me start by saying that this is no "vanity" project (this is Mutter's second recording of the work-so some seem to think her suspect). Whereas Mutter's first recording with Karajan was musically adept and refined, this Four Seasons is the product of true artistry. Pared down but not forced, insightful, but not idiosyncratic--I would say this recording is best described as a playful work of love.This second recording by Mutter tops other Four Seasons that I have head in many ways. In particular--it, like nature, has an innate freedom. This is music that flows naturally, unpredictably, and is always full of wonder.Where this disc truly separates itself from other recordings of the work is in its palpably frigid "Winter." Mutter's violin IS the biting cold. You might want to have a sweater handy when you listen.The Devil's Trill, the filler piece on the disc, is possibly given an even better performance than the stunning Four Seasons. Both pieces are programmatic and fantasy driven. Both create stunning sound-pictures.Yet beyond all the fantasy and beauty, this music speaks to me of a greater truth that would at first seem fantasy. Music of this depth and spirit is indeed evidence of an artist in her prime. More importantly, it is further irrefutable evidence of the beauty, depth, wonder, and goodness of the One who set the lights in the expanse of the heavens to mark the Four Seasons."

Just a Little Better

Jill Tan | 12/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anne-Sophie Mutter is my favorite violinist and this CD is clearly meant to be fun. There are photographs of Mutter with the gentlemen comprising the Trondheim (Norway) Soloists and the colorful paintings of the German artist, Gotthard Graubner are what supposedly inspired Mutter to make this particular recording. It is a little surprising then, that this CD is so very typically unsurprising. This is in no way meant as a criticism; it is, instead, a compliment.Mutter's virtuosity is, as always, beyond reproach. She and the Trondheim Soloists go beyond themselves to capture the very essence of Vivaldi's extraordinary creativity and playfulness. It has become fashionable, however, to attempt a new interpretation of this beautiful score. In fact, the compulsion to do something new and different with Vivaldi's music makes each new performance of The Four Seasons akin to a familiar, but well-loved, battlefield.The Mutter/Trondheim approach is best typified in Autumn. The first movement begins on a rather conservative note but the tempos soon get pulled around so much the listener feels rather drunk and disoriented. The movement's middle section is almost refined and the hunt that follows sounds as though it is taking place in Handel's England rather than in Vivaldi's Italy.Early in her career, Mutter recorded this very same music with Herbert von Karajan. That interpretation was so smooth, so mellow and so gorgeous, and Mutter's extraordinary talent was showcased to such perfection, that this recording can't help but pale beside it.This is an interesting CD and it certainly is a lot of fun, even though I doubt that it accomplishes all that Mutter wanted it to. The conversation between Mutter and Harald Wieser, included in the booklet, seems to indicate the playful and whimsical nature with which we are supposed to receive this recording. Okay, playful it is. But I think Anne-Sophie Mutter is so good, so accomplished and so extraordinary, that she deserved something just a little better."

Search - Ricardo Kubala, Marit Laugen, Kristin Reigstad :: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons/Tartini: The Devil's Trill

CD Details

Synopsis

Similarly Requested CDs

CD Reviews