Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi :: Vivaldi : L'estro armonico / Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante

Spoiled brat Baroque

Angela Ralano | 05/01/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a Baroque musician by training and L'estro armonico are some of my favorite Vivaldi concerti. But I was very, very disappointed in this recording. The good points: the ensemble is polished and precise. They go anywhere Biondi leads them, and do it with verve. There are some magical moments of real virtuosity. But most of the time, I just want to slap some sense into their lead violinist and tell him to get a life. Biondi does anything he can to break the rules and show the world that he's original and innovative. But instead, the performances just come off as affected -- like a spoiled brat acting out of spite. He has no good intentions, no respect for the music itself. This is most apparent during the album's slow movements. These are some of Vivaldi's finest melodies: lyrical, bittersweet, gorgeous. I'd have given my eye teeth to be a violinist and get a chance to play them. But Biondi saws through them with all the passion of a dessicated earthworm. You can tell he's bored and just wants to get back to the fast movements so he can show off his fast fingering again. Pleh. Bleh.It's too bad because, once again, the ensemble supporting him is first rate and they could do amazing things under other direction.There are other, better recordings of L'estro armonico."

Unbelievable

J. De Sapio | 08/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you think you know L'Estro Armonico, and haven't listened to this absolutely marvelous interpretation, think again! Every second is a blessing, and those all-time favorites, no.6, no.8, no.10 and no.11 have never sounded better! Very refreshing. The best Estro Armonico out there since Trevor Pinnock (still the brilliant but standard interpretation it was). Quick, acquire this immediately, even if you're a nineteenth century romantic snob!"

Vibrant Vivaldi (Despite Biondi)

J. De Sapio | Washington, DC | 08/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Formed in 1990 as one of Italy's pioneering period instrument ensembles, Europa Galante (with its leader Fabio Biondi) is decidedly in the "subjective" camp of period instrument performers - those who believe that creating an exciting experience for modern-day listeners is more important than pure "authenticity". They have succeeded in cultivating a distinctively Italian period-instrument sound - more vibrato and legato than most baroque players - that seems a natural outgrowth of the sounds of the Italian language. At their best, they produce an incredibly warm, sweet, vocal string sound, such as can be heard at the beginning of the D major violin concerto on this set (track 14 of disc 2). In addition to following standard baroque orthodoxies, they often take great liberties with their music, using extreme changes of tempo and dynamics and the percussive effects of a prominent continuo section to create a dramatic experience. Since these players are Italian, Vivaldi is their birthright, and their passionate interpretations could not be more different from the anemic sound that sometimes comes from northern European period players.



Although he brings a welcome Italianate flair to the music, to my taste Fabio Biondi's style on this recording is simply too eccentric: he feels the need to play every phrase with different articulations and amounts of vibrato, and to cram in superfluous ornaments at incredibly fast tempos (to say nothing of his un-beautiful execution of trills). I almost feel that he concentrates on surface thrills and sensual aspects of the music at the expense of structural clarity and coherence, and that he plays with the music rather than plays it. He is obviously trying to bring the music alive, but at its worst his approach comes off as fussy and flaky. To be fair, my unfavorable impression may be due partly to the rather dry, thin, constricted timbre of his violin on this disc; I own other Biondi/Europa Galante CD's that show him to much better advantage.



As might be expected, the strongest tracks on this set are the concerti grossi and the concertos for multiple violins, where Biondi's eccentricities are tempered by his colleagues, and the efforts of the band as a whole cohere to produce vibrant, exciting, meaningful performances. That not many complete recordings of Vivaldi's Opus 3 on period instruments are available may mean that this mid-priced set will be a viable choice for many listeners. For my part, I have decided that I can live with Biondi's shortcomings and love Europa Galante and Vivaldi."