Vivaldi: Concerti per Violino III 'Il ballo' (Tesori del Piemonte, Vol. 40)

Diego Fasolis' strong sense of rhythm coupled with the fluidity and virtuostic ease of Galfetti's playing render this cd irresistible. The Vivaldi Edition: a recording venture conceived by the Italian musicologist Alberto Basso and the independent label Naïve, is one of the most ambitious recording projects of the twenty-first century. Its principal objective is to record the massive collection of Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved today in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria in Turin, some 450 works in all. This treasure trove is none other than the private library of scores Vivaldi had at home at the time of his death in Vienna in 1741 and includes his extant operas, hundreds of concertos, sacred compositions and cantatas. After a chaotic itinerary which took them from Venice to Genoa, then to Casale Monferrato in Piedmont, these manuscripts ended up almost by accident at the library in Turin, which, realising their priceless value, managed to acquire them around 1930 thanks to two generous patrons. The collection includes fifteen operas and several hundred concertos, as well as sacred compositions and secular cantatas. Most of this music has not been heard since the eighteenth century. The release of more than one hundred recordings, which began in the year 2000, will continue until 2015. The Vivaldi Edition's goal is to make this extraordinary wealth of music available to the public and at the same time to reveal the full genius of Vivaldi, not only as a composer of instrumental music, for which he was already known, but as the creator of some of the eighteenth century's most important vocal music. Beyond the realm of recording, the Vivaldi Edition is active in promoting affiliated concerts in major festivals and concert series throughout Europe and in developing multimedia projects which bring together musicians, film-makers, authors, visual artists and others.