Antonio Vivaldi

A new addition to the very successful series of super-budget boxes.

A 28-CD set of Concertos, Sonatas and major vocal works by one of the most popular Baroque composers of all time.

Vivaldi's complete Concertos and Sonatas opus 1-12 plus other concertos and cantatas.

Performances drawn mainly from Decca's L'Oiseau-Lyre catalogue featuring the important ensemble/ conductor partnerships of Christopher Hogwood & the Academy of Ancient Music and Philip Pickett & the New London Consort as well as Andreas Scholl with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in Nisi Dominus and Salve Regina

Antonio Vivaldi was one of great composers of the Baroque era. He produced a vast amount of attractive music, much of it in the form of concertos for various instruments, both singly and in combination. His most famous composition is the set of four violin concertos called ‘The Four Seasons’ and all four of these concertos are heard here, each performed by a different virtuoso soloist: Yehudi Menuhin, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christopher Warren-Green and Kyung-Wha Chung. Also included are delightful concertos for flute, mandolin, cello, trumpet and oboe, and several beautiful arias from his many operas. The set ends with several extracts from his magnificent setting of the Gloria.

Hercules reborn! Rolando Villazón and Joyce DiDonato lead a dazzling cast in Vivaldi’s opera Ercole sul’Termodonte, first heard in Rome in 1723 and reconstructed by conductor Fabio Biondi from the original libretto, historical scores and his intimate knowledge of the composer.

Like the mythical Hercules, hero of this opera by Vivaldi, dynamic tenor Rolando Villazón has triumphed over some huge challenges, including an operation in 2009 on his vocal cords.

In this, his first complete studio recording of an opera for Virgin Classics, he takes on the title role of Hercules (Ercole), whose mission is to obtain the belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyta (Ippolita). She is portrayed by Joyce DiDonato, whose Virgin Classics album of Handel, ‘Furore’, gave ample evidence of both her seductive powers and her intrepid spirit in Baroque music. Completing the cast is a dazzling line-up of virtuoso star singers: Diana Damrau, Vivica Genaux, Philippe Jaroussky, Patrizia Ciofi, Romina Basso and Topi Lehtipuu.

The conductor is Italian Baroque specialist Fabio Biondi, directing his group Europa Galante. His Virgin Classics recording of Vivaldi’s opera Bajazet, nominated for a Grammy, won multiple awards including the Grand Prix de l'Académie du Disque Lyrique in France, an ECHO Award in Germany and a Midem Classical Award. It also received the highest praise from publications such as Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason, Classica-Répertoire, Opéra International, Pizzicato, Opera News and Gramophone, which said: “Fabio Biondi and his players bring out countless nuances in the score with their usual array of interpretative devices ranging from gentle cello chords in recitative to sparky off-beat accents and pizzicati, and even some acid sul ponticello. There could hardly be a better way to bring this opera to life.”

Biondi himself brought the score back to life, reconstructing it for performance in Venice in 2007, and subsequently in Paris in 2009. No autograph score or contemporary copy of the opera was in existence, but Biondi worked from the libretto printed for the first performances in Rome in 1723. He was then able to identify various arias from other Vivaldi scores kept in libraries around Europe, principally in France and Germany. In many cases, he also orchestrated the arias, extrapolating from their musical substance and his intimate knowledge of Vivaldi’s practice. Where no source existed for an aria or chorus, he reconstructed the music by adapting and borrowing from other works by Vivaldi. He also composed all the recitatives.

As Biondi explains: “This opera occupies a special and emblematic position in Vivaldi’s life. At the age of 45, he took the risk of presenting an opera in Rome for the first time … Ercole proved a resounding success … The city was full of talk about this opera which, by introducing a new musical style, seemed to revolutionise a genre much loved in the Eternal City. His melodic invention, his bel canto lyricism, rhythmic impulse and colourful instrumentation captured the imagination of music lovers.”

Cecilia Bartoli is loved the world over for vocal fireworks and spectacular coloratura, but she is also adored for her spine-tingling pianissimi and her ability to shape endless, velvety phrases. For the first time, this product will focus on the irresistibly sensual side of Cecilia Bartoli's art. It has been conceived as a popular “mood” or lifestyle compilation — presenting quieter arias showcasing Cecilia's vocal beauty, sensuality and emotion. “Sospiri” is designed to present this most accessible aspect of Cecilia Bartoli's art to the broadest popular-classical market.

“Sospiri” will contain favourite arias by Mozart and Handel, bel canto jewels by Bellini and Rossini and treasures by Vivaldi as well as music which Cecilia Bartoli has “rediscovered” on her recent record-breaking solo albums.

For Cecilia’s existing fans, the Prestige Edition includes a previously unreleased aria and world premiere recording of Vinci’s Cervo in bosco, one of Farinelli’s calling card arias.

Both formats include a new interpretation of Rosina's aria Una voce poco fa, from Il Barbiere di Siviglia - the dazzling aria of young love, the role in which Cecilia Bartoli first shot to international stardom. She infuses this new interpretation with all her knowledge of the baroque and classical tradition on which Rossini’s music was founded, her experience of period practice and critical reading of the manuscripts, together with a playfulness and variety of colors which she has acquired over the years. On this track recorded during the Maria sessions Cecilia Bartoli is accompanied by a fantastic period practice orchestra, Orchestra La Scintilla.

Ottone in villa is the second recording of a Vivaldi opera this year, and the first full opera recording ever done by leading Baroque music specialist Il Giardino Armonico and its music director Giovanni Antonini. They are joined by a cast including confirmed performers and rising stars such as Julia Lezhneva and Topi Lehtipuu. Ottone in Villa is the earliest opera by Vivaldi, and this is the world premiere of a complete recording of the work.

Il Giardino Armonico, founded in Milan in 1985 and directed by Giovanni Antonini, is one of today’s most admired and sought-after ensembles specialising in performance on period instruments. The ensemble has made many award winning recordings of instrumental works by Vivaldi and other seventeenth and eighteenth-century composers.

Long thought to be Vivaldi’s first opera, Ottone in villa (“Otho on vacation”) had its premier in 1713 in the small public theatre of Vicenza, the Teatro delle Garzerie. By this time Antonio Vivaldi was already a celebrated violin virtuoso and teacher at La Pietà. Ottone in villa bears witness to Vivaldi’s mastery in his first productive period (in 1711 he had published his Op. 3 concerti, L’estro armonico), and is a precious example of Venetian operatic culture. The drama is a satire of Imperial Rome’s high society, concentrating on amorous intrigues among an attractive group of young characters in a pastoral setting.

The Vivaldi Edition, a recording venture conceived by the Italian musicologist Alberto Basso (Istituto per I Beni Musicali in Piemonte) and the independent label Naïve, is one of the most ambitious recording projects of the twenty-first century. Its principal objective is to record the massive collection of Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria in Turin, some 450 works in all.

Naïve’s very successful ‘Baroque Voices’ series of mid-price re-issues goes one better with four special box sets at even greater discount. The last of these comprises four wide-ranging discs of Vivaldi’s sacred music. Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano again contribute extensively, performing on three mixed discs, with the popular Gloria, Stabat Mater, Cantatas and various concerti among the pieces, and Alessandro de Marchi directs the Academia Montis Regalis on a recording of six Vivaldi Motets.

Classics is proud to announce the release The Very Best of Nigel Kennedy. This 2-CD set celebrates the multiple facets of the award-winning, multi-million record selling violinist, featuring works from his twin passions, classical and jazz.

The first disc focuses on classical music, featuring Kennedy’s iconic recordings of the best-loved violin repertoire: movements from the great concerti including Bruch and Beethoven; stand-alone works such as Zigeunerweisen and Lark Ascending; and from his landmark recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Kennedy’s 1989 release of the baroque masterpiece, named the best-selling classical recording of all time by the Guinness Book of World Records, topped the UK Classical Charts for over a year, reached #3 on the UK Pop Album chart and has sold more than two-million copies world wide. At one point, Nigel was selling more records a week than the combined total of the other 19 records in the UK Classical Sales Chart.

The second disc features tracks from his award-winning and critically acclaimed jazz and pop recordings: standards from his Blue Note Sessions album, performances of his own pop and fusion compositions with the Nigel Kennedy Quintet and with Polish klezmer trio Kroke, as well as tracks from his most recent EMI Classics release Sssh!, including his collaboration with Culture Club singer Boy George.