Vivaldi - Cello Concertos ~ Queyras, Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin

Vivaldi - Cello Concertos ~ Queyras, Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin ... 2011

Alongside the famous Quattro Stagioni, La Notte, and so on, Vivaldi wrote no fewer than 27 concertos for the cello – an instrument which at the time was generally limited to playing basso continuo. With the genuine virtuose he had available to him at the Ospedale della Pietà, the Prete Rosso played a key role in the emancipation of the cello, which so readily stimulated him to invent varied figuration. The musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin have chosen to add highly expressive pieces by Caldara to punctuate the sumptuous feast of sound offered by maestro Queyras.
"Queyras is equal to all Vivaldi’s challenges and intricacies, adopting a buoyant “period” style that is fully matched by the incisive, pungent playing of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin." - The Telegraph

"There's the old saw that Vivaldi composed the same concerto hundreds of times. Well, here's another saying I'd like to offer in retort: if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and the Berlin Academy for Early Music also dismantle the myth by revealing the finely crafted details in each work, from muted to incisive, and express their every emotional nuance from plaintive to cheerful. The CD has several bonuses: one of Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico concertos and an opera sinfonia, plus two of the most eloquent sinfonias by his contemporary, Caldara. The young ladies of the 'Pieta' convent and orphanage must have been virtuosa performers; Vivaldi cuts them no slack, demanding brilliance in both technical and musical sophistication."--  National Public Radio, Hot Pick for October, 2011