Concerti alla Rustica. - sound recording reviews

National Review, July 8, 1988 by Ralph de Toledano

Concerti alla Rustica

Concerti alla Rustica brings us six more Vivaldi concertos, also played by Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert (Deutsche Grammophon CD 415 674). Vivaldi wrote for virtuso violin, but these concertos for the most part are dedicated to the aboe, mandolins, and molti strumenti. As I find little oestrus in the Estro, I cannot perceive the rustic in these concertos. Rustic or not, they do not have the elan of the Estro, but they are still very fine and still point us toward a re-evaluation of the baroque. In both works, conductor and orchestra give the composer his due.