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Track(s) taken from CDA67553

Cello Concerto in G minor, RV417

composer
mid-1720s

Jonathan Cohen (cello), The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
Recording details: April 2005
Cadogan Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: July 2006
Total duration: 8 minutes 47 seconds

Cover artwork: Venice by Moonlight (detail) by Henry Pether (fl1828-1862)
Private Collection / © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘Cohen combines an easy and soulful tone with incisive precision and agility’ (Gramophone)

‘Cohen is an expressive player with a feeling for articulate phrasing who responds readily to the poetry of slow movements … the King's Consort under Robert King's direction from the harpsichord offers stylish and alert support throughout’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The playing … is first rate—phrases are beautifully wrought and each of the works is given a distinctive flavour. This is a recital to savour!’ (Early Music Review)

‘If there is any recording that might persuade our editor that there is some virtue to early music performance practice, this might be it. I find myself unusually involved by this release, in several respects, and I recommend it to your attention … the cello seems to have inspired him to write some of his deepest music—and I am not speaking registrally. This is a good selection from his 28 concertos for the instrument, performed with satisfying intensity’ (American Record Guide)

‘Cohen is an intelligent cellist … and in the slow movements he's a dream, fashioning an Adagio of deep, soulful beauty out of the simple materials provided in the early RV416. The uncomplicated orchestral playing provides the perfect backdrop for Cohen's graceful virtuosity, of which I'd certainly like to hear more’ (International Record Review)

‘Very delectable’ (The Times)

‘Cohen finds constant variety and individuality in these works’ (The Strad)

‘Lovely, extensive, crisp, melodic lines from The King's Consort strings … this album makes a sterling debut in my book’ (Audiophile Audition, USA)

‘Jonathan Cohen and Robert King make an excellent team, and the interplay with The King's Consort is often incisive and exciting. It's a fine disc. A second volume of Vivaldi's cello concertos would be most welcome’ (Classical Source)

‘Jonathan Cohen's performances are nothing short of phenomenal; his dazzling agility and artistic insight truly make the cello sing … a disc to relish and enjoy in excellent sound and exemplary annotations’ (Classical.net)
The streamlined form and feeling of spaciousness in RV417’s outer movements is typical of Vivaldi’s mature style. The middle movement, in minuet rhythm and in binary form, is accompanied throughout by the continuo alone. To make the slow movement of a concerto indistinguishable from a slow movement in a sonata for the same instrument was an option frequently taken by Vivaldi in mid-career. In this intensely productive period, he often borrowed actual movements from sonatas for his concertos, and doubtless sometimes also vice versa.

from notes by Michael Talbot © 2006

La forme profilée et le sentiment d’espace des mouvements extrêmes de RV417, en sol mineur, sont typiques du Vivaldi de la maturité. Le mouvement médian, qui présente un rythme de menuet et une forme binaire, est constamment accompagné du seul continuo. Rendre le mouvement lent d’un concerto impossible à distinguer de celui d’une sonate pour le même instrument: telle fut l’option souvent retenue par Vivaldi au milieu de sa carrière. Durant cette période intensément féconde, il emprunta souvent à ses sonates les mouvements de ses concertos—l’inverse était aussi, parfois, très certainement vrai.

extrait des notes rédigées par Michael Talbot © 2006
Français: Hypérion

Die stromlinienförmige Anlage und das Gefühl von Weitläufigkeit in den Außensätzen sind typische Eigenschaften seines reifen Stils. Der mittlere Satz hat einen Menuett-Rhythmus und eine zweiteilige Form und die Begleitung wird lediglich vom Continuo übernommen. Den langsamen Satz eines Solokonzerts ebenso wie einen langsamen Satz einer Sonate für dasselbe Instrument anzulegen, ist ein Charakteristikum der mittleren Schaffensperiode Vivaldis. In dieser besonders fruchtbaren Phase verwertete er oft ganze Sätze aus seinen Sonaten für seine Konzerte, und zweifellos auch umgekehrt.

aus dem Begleittext von Michael Talbot © 2006
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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