Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

The sound quality of this CD is great! I have heard Vivaldi's L'estro armonico performed by others, but this is the best version I have heard. When I first listened to this CD I had never heard of Fabio Biondi or Europa Galante, but after hearing the music on this CD I have tried to obtain all of the baroque CD's that they have made. Most importantly, the sound quality of this CD is just spectacular. If you listen to any music performed by Europa Galante you will notice that the sound quality is very good. It is as if the music somehow sounds clearer than when it is performed by other musicians. This CD is no exception.

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!

I know I have been very negative in my other reviews of Biondi-cds. Actually, I almost take it back!
He is NOT an opera-conductor, period. But he IS a brilliant violinist! His playing in the Vivaldi concertos is just outstanding. The orchestra is also amazing. I really recommends this set of concertos to anyone not familiar with the Biondi legacy!

I have been listening to Vivaldi's L'estro armonico for over 30 years, the Academy of St Martins in the Field's 1975 recording got me hooked, now it would sound a bit dull, then the Academy of Ancient Music's 1980 period instrument version was better, and still sounds pretty good, then the English Concert's version and so on. I used to dream of a perfect interpretation of this work, and on first hearing this version I knew this was it, a perfect recording of a very important work. But I guess it all boils down to whether you love or hate Biondi, I obviously love him. Baroque music is all about interpretation, not just playing the notes on a published score which was only meant as a guide for a virtuoso performer. There was little point in publishing music too difficult for a prospective buyer. I will concede that Biondi stretches it a bit sometimes, like his Opus 8, but not here.
There is little point in going on, if you prefer your Vivaldi unornamented as published, thats OK, but I think this is a wonderful interpretation, I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

Let's go over the edge and see what's down there! This is an absolutely schizophrenic performance. Nothing period about it. This is Vivaldi rooted firmly in the 21st century. Violins and theorbos are used at times like percussion instruments. The baroque sewing machine rhythms sometimes come to abrupt stops as if someone tossed a rock into the machinery. This performance has an attitude. If you cut your teeth on performances by Hogwood or I Musici you may have trouble getting used to this performance. But if you have a musically open mind, or if you enjoy listening to the old painted with a new pallet you may enjoy it. The musicians are able, and at times virtuosic. It's not for everybody, but then again, what is?

First time I listened to this recording I got really excited. I have known the work for years through several recordings. Biondi made it sound fresh, exciting, new. But after 20 minutes I got tired of it. It just becomes too much. Trying too hard to be original and end up just sounding mannered and forced. I still listen to it every now and then for short periods of time. Sound quality is great and technically they all play really well.

However, Hogwood still rules. Even after 10 years the performance sounds fresh and spontaneous and at the same time technically perfect.

If you have one Lestro, make it Hogwood's.

This is clearly one of my favorite baroque albums; it is some of the best music Vivaldi ever wrote. The performance is splendid.

I had 3 excellent versions of Vivaldi's opus 3 (I Solisti Veneti, I Musici and N. Marriner), but I wanted a new version to enjoy it with real DDD sound. Unfortunately, I'm very dissapointed by this CD. Although I have listened it many times to see if can get used to it, I cannot like this performance. Europa Galante is an excellent ensemble, but in my opinion the problem here was the conductor.

Apparently Biondi tried to be "original" at any cost, so in each concerto he needs to add some fancy "effects" as he thought this music needs to be made more interesting. As a result you hear a sharp attack of the notes in one bar, the next bar is played legato, the following bar is with dotted notes, now the next bar is pianissimo,and now the following is fortissimo and so on... There is never a steady moment where the music can expand and you can feel the Harmony. You are just shaken around. The dynamics is exaggerated (huge and senseless dynamic jumps), the duration of some silences is exaggerated, he adds some annoying ritardandos that destroy the natural progression of the melodic line, etc. In addition, there are a lot of unnecessary 'embellishment' notes, much beyond what the music can stand.

These concertos contain very beautiful slow tempos that are treated here without respect. In some of them the chords are played so forte that it sounds as if someone were slashing the violins, destroying the subtle atmosphere of the music; in others, the soloist insists with his melismatic ornamental notes that trivializes the music up to a point of making it sound almost vulgar. I recognize that there are some good movements and the continuo part is very good, but I had a hard time for most of this disc because of the hyperkinetic and frantic style. For some moments I felt so annoyed that if this had been a live performance I would have tempted to stand up and shout: Could you please just play it how it was written! This CD will not show you L'Estro Armonico as Vivaldi deserves. It seems as if the soloist is much more interested in just showing of his fingering dexterity, no matter how much damage to the music is done. Finally I gave away this CD and purchased the version by C. Hogwood. That one was definitely better.