Composer: Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Giuseppe Tartini, Antonio Vivaldi
Performer: Bojan Čičić
Orchestra: The Illyria Consort
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Delphian
Catalogue: DCD34249
Release: 2021
Size: 1.4 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Vivaldi: Concerto in D major, RV 205
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Largo
03. III. Allegro – Capriccio
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in D major, RV 213
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Largo
06. III. Allegro – Cadenza
Tartini: Violin Concerto in E major, D 48 “Rondinella vaga e bella”
07. I. Allegro
08. II. Largo
09. III. Allegro – Capriccio
Locatelli: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 3 No. 12 ‘Il laberinto armonico’
10. I. Allegro – Capriccio
11. II. Largo – Presto
12. III. Allegro – Capriccio
Contemporary accounts of the violin playing of Antonio Vivaldi, the “Red Priest”, show the extent to which he raised the instrument to hitherto unknown extremes of soloistic virtuosity – able, in its spontaneity and sonorous brilliance, to hold its own against an orchestra in fiery and unforgettably dramatic confrontations.
Thanks to Vivaldi’s pupils, eager to imitate the master’s wilder imaginings, several of his improvised cadenzas have been preserved. Here, they inspire typically white-hot performances from Bojan Čičić and The Illyria Consort of four violin concertos by Vivaldi, Tartini and Locatelli which all have movements ending in a “capriccio” – a sequence designed to show that the idea of a virtuosic display cadenza, usually associated with the classical concerto of a later period, had already developed during the first half of the eighteenth century. Fittingly, the album’s title is borrowed from John Babington, author of the earliest guide to fireworks published in Europe – Pyrotechnia!