Nigel Kennedy has his first name back for this Vivaldi remake, and in every respect it is a serious and very well done project, a huge improvement over his bizarre first recording with its strange cadenzas and interpolations. In the birdsong imitations of Spring’s first movement his playing has character without exaggeration, and in the slow movements he limits his vibrato in homage to the period-instrument folks. Historical performance practice also informs the very fast opening movement of Autumn, but happily not the largo of Winter, which often sounds frantic at theoretically “authentic” tempos. In all four concertos the finales are very satisfying, Summer’s storm having bite but again not the almost hysterical exaggeration that some groups bring to it, and Autumn’s rustic dances recall the scherzo of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.
Daniel Stabrawa makes an excellent partner in the two double concertos that frame The Four Seasons, while the continuo of lute and harpsichord is both well played and very well balanced against the string ensemble. The set comes with a bonus DVD for those interested in a visual rendition of the performance, but what really matters is that this is about as fine a modern-instrument rendition of this music as we’ll come across nowadays–and it’s also a reminder of just how good violinist Nigel Kennedy can be.
