Musica Antiqua Koln, Reinhard Goebel - Italian Violin Concertos (1992)

A compilation of violin concertos by one Baroque master and two lesser figures inevitably leads one to draw comparisons between them, comparisons that sometimes are unflattering. Vivaldi’s A major concerto, part of the group known as “L’estro armonico”, is a joyful romp, and violinist Manfred Scherzer takes advantage of all its brilliance with a bright tone and eminently appropriate playfulness. The Viotti, too, is a treat, with skillfully cast shades of light and dark playing across each page of the score. By contrast, the Nardini is an unrewarding, unintentional parody of styles: at its heart, it’s Baroque music at its most superficial, but it also boasts lots of Romantic-era double and triple stops stuck into the soloist’s part as punctuation. (In fact, this “concerto” is Emilio Pente’s 19th-century compilation of two of Nardini’s violin sonatas, with added orchestral accompaniment.) Even Scherzer’s thoroughly competent performance can’t transcend the piece’s leaden qualities. His approach to all these works is definitely old-school, high Romanticism, but he tosses off each one with fine technique and good humor in these 1972 performances. With the exception of the Vivaldi, which bounces along quite nicely, conductor Helmut Koch’s pacing is sluggish–the freshness and vigor that can make these pieces really snap is missing.
The liner notes are quite skimpy, with no artist biographies or detailed recording information. The caution here in audio quality is that the orchestral sound is quite dull and unfocused. Nevertheless, all three works are bread and butter for student violinists; I would think that this compilation would make a handy reference for young players, particularly at Berlin Classics’ budget price.