Isaac Stern: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Double Concertos (Box set, Vol.1, 2CDs)

Studio: Sony
Composer: Carl Stamitz, Antonio Vivaldi
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Eugene Ormandy, Zubin Mehta
Orchestra: New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra [members of]
Number Of Discs: 2

Review:

Lots of famous players in this one all vying for attention
It seems that there can sometimes be too many famous musicians in a recording and this CD is an example of that. It's as if they're all trying hard to distinguish themselves from each other since it could be the last Four Seasons recording that Isaac Stern will perform in. They seem to go too fast in some areas, too slow in some, and go full force only to back off quickly. They also did some improvisation with some of the pieces, which were okay, but again, too powerful. They really heightened the prescence of the harpsichord, which everyone knows isn't really Vivaldi's strong point in his works. Also, the orchestra does not harmonize well in many areas. I was disappointed by this. But these gripes are about the Four Seasons interpretation. The rest of the pieces on the 2-CD album are pretty solid. If you buy this hoping to hear a great last Four Season's album from Isaac Stern, you'll appreciate that he still has lots of energy, but on a musical level it just pushes too hard in some areas and too soft in others that it almost gets annoying to hear areas where you would expect fortissimo only to hear the orchestra back off oddly on the passage.

Track Listing:
Disc: 1
1. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in E major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "La primavera". 1. Allegr
2. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in E major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "La primavera". 2. Largo
3. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in E major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "La primavera". 3. Allegr
4. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "L'estate". 1. Allegro no
5. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "L'estate". 2. Adagio
6. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 "L'estate". 3. Presto
7. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "L'autunno". 1. Allegro
8. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "L'autunno". 2. Adagio mo
9. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 "L'autunno". Allegro
10. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "L'inverno". 1. Allegro n
11. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "L'inverno". 2. Largo
12. Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 "L'inverno". 3. Allegro
13. 1. Allegro molto
14. 2. Andante
15. 3. Allegro
16. 1. Allegro
17. 2. Andante
18. 3. Allegro
19. 1. Allegro
20. 2. Andante
21. 3. Allegro

Disc: 2
1. 1. Allegro
2. 2. Larghetto e spiritoso
3. 3. Allegro
4. 1. Allegro non molto
5. 2. Adagio
6. 3. Allegro molto
7. 1. Allegro
8. 2. Andante
9. 3. [-]
10. 1. Allegro ma poco e cantabile
11. 2. Andante molto
12. 3. Allegro
13. 1. Allegro molto
14. 2. Largo
15. 3. Allegro
16. 1. Allegro
17. 2. Romance
18. 3. Rondeau

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/195882630/Vol_1.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195895503/Vol_1.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195908583/Vol_1.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195923822/Vol_1.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195938096/Vol_1.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195947651/Vol_1.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195959923/Vol_1.part7.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/195985155/Vol_1.part8.rar