Vivaldi: Oboe Concerto in C major, RV447

Italian oboist, Alfredo Bernardini, records seven of Vivaldi’s oboe concertos for the Vivaldi Edition with his versatile ensemble Zefiro.

Three of the concertos on this CD [RV 455, 463, 453] were originally recorded in 1994 for the label Astrée. Their interpretation has remained exemplary and they are as exhilarating today as they were when first heard. For this reason these have been included in the Vivaldi Edition along with four newly recorded oboe concertos. Alfredo Bernardini has taken part in some 100 recordings. Among these is an earlier album featuring Vivaldi oboe concertos which received a Cannes Classical Award in 1995. In 1999 he made a documentary on Vivaldi with Zefiro for Belgian television. Accompanying Bernardini is Zefiro, his versatile ensemble specialising in 18th-century repertoire that gives particular prominence to wind instruments.

The astonishing Alex Klein, among the world’s top oboists, performs eight surprisingly diverse concertos by one of everyone’s favorite Baroque composers. His colleagues on the recording are the New Brandenburg Collegium, led by American conductor, composer, and keyboard artist Anthony Newman.

This is a mid-priced CD reissue of an album originally released in 1995 (only) through the Musical Heritage Society.

Vivaldi’s oboe concertos “are in a class all their own,” Klein writes in the CD liner notes. They “exhibit technical demands that would not be seen again in the oboe repertory for another 100 years” and still challenge “even the best performers of our own day,” Klein writes.

When the original Musical Heritage Society release came out, Salt Lake City’s Deseret News declared, “Klein Really Clicks in Vivacious CD of Vivaldi Concertos… There is some gorgeous playing here, stylishly ornamented and beautifully floated, with a seemingly inexhaustible air supply.”

This is sensitive and intelligent music-making featuring a master artist and a young ensemble. Following his recent recordings of oboe concertos from the Classical and Romantic periods, the critically acclaimed oboist Lajos Lences turns once again to the Baroque.

Following an unprecedented chart record for a woodwind player in his native Germany, Albrecht Mayer has now signed an exclusive contract with Decca. Albrecht Mayer is the principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic and succeeds to impress critics and casual music listeners alike – as did flautist James Galway in the 1990s. His first Decca record is a Baroque album themed around Venice and features famous repertoire by Vivaldi, Albinoni and Marcello as well as some world premiere recordings of that era.

Albrecht Mayer is accompanied by a Baroque chamber ensemble featuring some of the finest period players of today. At least since the age of Goethe, German artists have been flocking to Italy as their Promised Land of Mediterranean sunshine and adventure. For the oboe virtuoso Albrecht Mayer, the lure is more specific. “Baroque Venice,” he says, “is where the oboe came into its own.” La Serenissima — Venice herself, floating like a mirage on her Adriatic lagoon — has held him spellbound since he first visited the city at the age of ten. He returns at least once a year. “I think,” Mayer says of the present anthology, “that this project has been growing in my heart for many years. Venice is such a fantastic island in every sense. Every time I visit, I feel like I’m stepping backwards in time — especially at night. By 10.30pm, all the tourists are gone. There are no cars. You stroll through the streets and feel completely alone.” There is always more to explore.