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Vivaldi's Cello |  | Artist: Yo-Yo Ma
Label: Sony Classical
Category: Digital Music Album
Buy New: $9.99
as of 10/4/2009 09:18 CDT details
Seller: SONY BMG Music Entertainment Downloads LLC.
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 20320
Genre: classical-music
Media: MP3 Download
Running Time: 4055 Minutes
ASIN: B00136JNTY
Release Date: March 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
 Great Recital - Transcriptions Notwithstanding March 30, 2004
Charles Richards (Los Angeles, CA)
66 out of 67 found this review helpful
Yo Yo Ma seems to be popping out CD's faster than Imelda Marcos bought footwear, but, being Yo Yo Ma, these are not "cookie cutter" albums; each is individual and has a lot to say about the music explored.
And this is no less true of his latest release, "Vivaldi's Cello", which really could have been called "Simply Baroque 3" as it features his collaborator on those two releases, baroque music master Ton Koopman (with his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra). Like those previous albums, it contains pieces actually written for the cello as well as transcriptions of others originally written for other instruments or voice. This was done, as with the "Simply Baroque" duo, to attract a more "crossover" audience, but the transcriptions are expertly done and, as Koopman himself says, this kind of thing was very common in the baroque period.
The three main items on the program are the famous g minor concerto for two cellos RV531 (in which Ma is joined by baroque cellist Jonathan Manson), the c minor concerto RV401, and the B flat major concerto RV423. This is Ma's first attempt at Vivaldi, and he sounds perfectly at home here. As is usual with Vivaldi's concerti, virtuoistic passages abound, and Ma does not dissappoint. His playing is rich and clear, and the sound of the baroque cello he plays exquisite.
The rest of the program, as mentioned above, is made up of transcriptions, most of which are ingenious. Vivaldi's only surviving oratorio, "Juditha Triumphans" contains some of his greatest music for the human voice, and two selections from this work are included here: the jovial "Noli, o Cara, te Adorantis" and the meltingly beautiful "Quanto Magis Generosa". The latter is especially fine - I admit I listened to this track three times when previewing this album. Also included are two extracts from the rarely performed pastoral opera "La Fida Ninfa", a glorious rendition of the "Laudamus Te" from the "Gloria" (which sounds, here, as if it had been written for cello), a lively aria from "Giustino", and the obligatory selection from "The Four Seasons", probably the least interesting track on the CD.
To cap things off, we're given a spirited transcription of the concerto for Viola d'Amore and Lute RV540.
Ma is accompanied expertly by Koopman and his famous baroque band and the pairing, as in the first two "Simply Baroque" albums, is spot on. Topping it off are beautifully written, informative, and user-friendly liner notes by David Mermelstein.
This is a highly enjoyable and wonderfully exceuted recital, both for the uninitiated and for the Vivaldi expert. Granted, it probably won't sell as well as Ma's more recent Brazilian albums, but if you're a Yo Yo Ma fan, love the cello, love Vivaldi, adore baroque music, or just want a rapturous way to spend an hour or so, then I would recommend this CD highly.
Sometimes the Cello Player Wins... April 10, 2004
Marc Ruby™ (Warren, MI USA)
73 out of 78 found this review helpful
I am probably more a fan of Vivaldi than I am of the Cello. Attribute this to my being a wind player and most enamored of the toots and squeaks that are our personal domain. But Yo-Yo Ma transcends and musical favoritism. He has certainly lifted the cello out of its undeserved anonymity and brought it into the musical foreground. He has a tremendous control over his sonority and complete loyalty to the sense of his music. In other words, he is much more than another great cellist; he is also an eminent musician. Fifty albums, 15 Grammy awards and a taste that spans genres - that's genius.
This quickly becomes obvious in the album at hand. Playing a 1712 Stradivarius specifically reconfigured as a baroque instrument he approaches a variety of Vivaldi's music, both written for the cello or newly transcribed for Ma. You get three cello Concerti (the G Minor for two cellos with Jonathan Manson, the B Flat Major, and the C Minor). All strong, performances that balance an analytic understanding of the music's requirements with a fine sensitivity for the artistic content.
The Concerto for Viola d'Amore, Lute and Orchestra, is rewritten for Cello, Organ, and Strings with Ton Koopman on organ. Koopman's choices of voices on this piece are a bit strange. The organ tootles a more than you would expect - occasionally sounding like a recorder on steroids. But Ma rides it out in style capturing the piece for his own. The Largo from Winter has been arranged so that the solo violin is now a solo cello. Since this is a beautiful melody in any case, it works, but this is more than a trivial rearrangement - more of a rewriting.
In addition there are rearrangements of some six opera and oratorio arias. All are interesting and involve some very performances from the other soloists as well as Yo-Yo Ma's own high standard of playing (including an oboe/cello duet with Alfredo Bernardini). I'm astonished at the resources Koopman seems to have at hand with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, which seem to defy the principle that original instrument ensembles should sound reedy and a bit weird.
[Dedicated to the memory of Bob Zeidman, one of Amazon's best reviewers and a voice that will always be missed.]
This is very accessible music written by one wizard and played by another. Make it a favored addition to your classical shelf.
Hard to believe! April 23, 2005
ben goheen (ontario)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
This album is just exquisite... At times there are no words to describe the depth and beauty -- his incredible bow control, intensity and passion, impeccable pitch, sense of dynamic movement... It's all there! The first time I heard "Largo" from Winter I had to hold my breath -- it is such a dazzling rendition! I say that this album deserves twice as many ears as there are people in the world today!
You mouth open in Awe. June 15, 2005
M. Jones (Edmond, OK USA)
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
This album is complete. My mouth was open in Awe when I heard Allegro off this album, it's no.1 on this album. I couldn't stop picturing them all playing this. The piece was astouding! The dynamics, accents, just everything! I don't know what else to say about this album!
Absolutely Amazing January 27, 2006
Rachel Horsley (Milan, NH)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I love this album from beginning to end. RV 531 will blow your socks off, especially the first and third movements! Yo-Yo and Ton have done it again, thank you for such a wonderful record. You will not be disappointed with this purchase.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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