Barthold Kuijken, Academia Montis Regalis - Vivaldi - Concerti per flauto traversiere (2002)

This set, like others in Opus 111's Vivaldi Edition, aims to explore many of the composer's unpublished works housed in the National University Library in Turin. Even without the benefit of a PhD in musicology, however, the average consumer with modest expectations will find much to enjoy in this delightfully played collection... Kuijken and the Academia Montis Regalis play these concertos with the customary vigor and crispness we have come to expect of "period-style" Vivaldi recordings, and you even get excellent intonation and nicely balanced sound along with the bargain... Kuijken captures all the liveliness and bounce throughout each piece, playing with a surprisingly full tone despite the well-known technical challenges imposed by early flutes (replicas or originals). The slow movements serve as exemplars of lovely phrasing and subtlety (check out the third track Largo from the G major concerto, RV 436, and listen to how he masterfully shapes the melody and adds just the right amount of dynamic shading to enliven the whole movement). A first-rate release then, that makes for a pleasant afternoon's musical diversion. -- Michael Liebowitz