Vivaldi: Concerto for Violin Strings and Harpsichord in G minor RV331

“Minasi is certainly an impressive virtuoso and his playing is rhythmically exciting and expressively affecting in equal measure. His account of the Largo of the G minor Concerto, RV327 is beautifully sustained and tenderly spoken. Yet too often, elsewhere, I feel cheated of the music's 'gentillesse' and its lyricism. Notwithstanding such misgivings, though, this is impressive playing by all concerned.” International Record Review, June 2012

“His virtuosity cannot be doubted and his tone courses like a young stream but a restless imagination looks beyond straightforward niceness and elegance for something deeper, more sharply moulded, in places even darker...This is not really Vivaldi as easy listening...But for anyone wanting a touch of Dionysian poetry, it is a disc worth returning to.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012

“Riccardo Minasi is a player with lively feeling for theatrical gesture and a technique that comfortably accommodates Vivaldi's virtuosity. He breathes life into these wonderfully expressive concertos with a musical rapport that perhaps responds more readily to bravura passages than to lyrical ones...committed Vivaldians should be delighted.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012

“Six unfamiliar concertos… show how skilled Vivaldi was at turning baroque clichés in unexpected directions. Carmignola finds wit in the first, and tenderness in the second, all articulated through subtle rubato which grows naturally out of the music. ...he's admirably partnered by the orchestra, which phrases sensitively, and knows when to attack the music, and when to be more yielding. A sparkling issue.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2006 *****

“Giuliano Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra here return to the all-Vivaldi format which has so far served them well. Given that the concertos on this release are advertised as world premiere recordings, that seems sensible enough. The mushrooming of the Vivaldi catalogue means that the excitement of hearing 'new' works can be as immediate as if he were still working among us today; and where we used to know but a handful of (mostly early) concertos, we are now becoming more aware of different stylistic periods, as well as the cross-fertilisation with other areas of his output.
Three of the works here show affinities with vocal works from the 1720s, when the brusque energy of the L'estro armonico concertos had been left behind in favour of something more dance-like; the other two are in the expansive, laid-back style of the 1730s. It is a little voyage of discovery, then, with the scenery including much harmonic resource and violinistic devilry.
There are no surprises in the performances though: they are as purringly beautiful as ever from these artists. Carmignola dashes around Vivaldi's scampering passagework and giant leaps with an easy control and consistency of good tone, and the Venice Baroque Orchestra are worthy partners – their surging rivers of sound in the finale of RV325 give a real thrill. Indeed, while one can imagine violinists of the Manze or Biondi kind finding more drama or humour in this music, it is otherwise hard to find anything to fault in these Rolls-Royce performances.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010