Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Violins in A, RV 519; Concerto for Two Violins in C, RV 507; Violin Concerto in A minor, RV 356; Violin Concerto in D, RV 230; Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, RV 12; Concerto for Violin & Oboe in B flat, RV 548; Concerto for Two

COMPOSERS: Vivaldi
LABELS: EMI
WORKS: Concerto for Two Violins in A, RV 519; Concerto for Two Violins in C, RV 507; Violin Concerto in A minor, RV 356; Violin Concerto in D, RV 230; Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, RV 12; Concerto for Violin & Oboe in B flat, RV 548; Concerto for Two Violins &
PERFORMER: Albrecht Meyer (oboe), Daniel Stabrawa (violin), Olaf Maninger (cello), Mitzi Meyerson (harpsichord); Berlin PO/Nigel Kennedy (violin)
CATALOGUE NO: 557 8592

After his recent traversal of The Four Seasons (reviewed December 2003), Nigel Kennedy has taken the Berlin PO into less well-known territory. The same qualities are evident as on the earlier CD: bold dynamic and tonal contrasts, clean articulation and complete technical assurance, not only from Kennedy, but from his fellow soloists and the orchestra. In the opening A major Double Concerto, Daniel Stabrawa matches Kennedy uncannily in sound and articulation, and their quasi-improvisation which kicks off the previously unrecorded C major shows a real delight in music-making. Even more than last time I’m impressed by the rhythmic tightness of the Allegro movements – and they’re often taken at a real lick, with a lean, vibrato-light sound. In the slow movements there’s more variety of timbre to animate the music, and to hear the two violinists answering each other in tremolando and harmonics in the C major is a delight. At the centre of the disc is the Sonata, where the music acquires extra piquancy by the addition of a lute to the expected cello and harpsichord continuo – and Olaf Maninger, who’s underpinned this section throughout, has a brief moment of glory in the concluding Triple Concerto. Colourfully recorded, there’s not a dull moment on this disc. Martin Cotton