Customer Reviews
The Classical rebel ! - By: Mr. John Miller, 18 Apr 2008 
I am constantly playing this in the car because I love it so much, other recordings are good but this is just a little bit different, in the Allegro movement of Spring if you listen to the bit before the whole violin & viola section thunders it's way to the tumultuous tweeting solo, you will notice that Nigel bow's 4 times in quick succession instead of the usual 2, the cadenza alllows for this & Nigel exploited it with typical panache. It's good to see him back in the limelight once more with his new recording, now lives in Krakow with his Polish missus.
So polished that it is hairless and tasteless - By: Jacques COULARDEAU, 23 Mar 2008 
Antonio Vivaldi was a priest, what's more a red-haired one, i.e. quite a marginal in this field of non-religious music, & his music was mostly composed for the orchestra of a young girls' religious school. And yet he is sublime to the most extreme point with conception, with understanding, with passionate comprehension. So that the English Chamber Orchestra here is by far too massive & muscular to satisfy the desire that makes us crave for finesse, delicacy, hues, nuances, shades, etc. And the only shades are those the musicians put over their eyes to impose a filter onto the music, the filter of technical perfection to the expense of emotional expressivity. So these Four Seasons are just perfect, well read, but they are rendered homogeneously, Easter in December & July in Winter. And that is of course regrettable. A little bit more personal temperament would give this music a charm it cannot have when the temper of perfection is trying to make it absolutely right. I would have preferred the vision of an erring pilgrim through the four seasons of his pilgrimage to that of a trip down the road in a vehicle that is so well pruned that nothing protrudes at alll anywhere. Could we speak of aerodynamic music?
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Amazing - What would Vivaldi say! - By: Mr. D. W. Holbrook, 27 Dec 2001 Amazing - was my first thoughts. I couldn't help wondering what Vivaldi would make of it, if he were sitting here with me in front of my stereo. Some 372 years later, his music vapourising in front of us as if by magic. I believe he would be incredibly exited as this music reallly comes to life & the playing is inspired. He would be particularly exited by 'Autumn' & 'Winter' where modern playing techniques have accentuated the contrasts in this fantastic collection. He wouldn't be amazed because of the stereo, sound quality; or because of any other external influence supplied by his host - He would be captivated by the playing...
Leave the music alone - By: , 08 Jan 2001 
There is much fine playing here but sadly a great deal of exaggeration & horrible ornanmentation.
I hated it & gave my copy away . Try Mutter for a fresh modern approach that is more about the music than the performer or Tafelmusik on period instruments.
As far as Kennedy is concerned his recent Bach CD is fabulous & makes this seem like a phase he was going through!
Simply the best rendition I've heard. - By: , 19 Dec 2000 Simply one of the best renditions of any piece of music I've ever heard. Timeless. I am buying another copy because my cassette tape wore out long ago. Once you hear Kennedy's version, the rest just cannot compare for techincal brilliance & inspiration.
