This instalment in Naïve’s commendable ongoing Vivaldi edition is given the title ‘L’imperatore’ on the basis that it draws on two collections of violin concertos which Vivaldi dedicated to Emperor Charles VI. The seven included here should go some way to reassess the sceptical view that Vivaldi simply wrote one concerto so many hundred times over and over again. The disc begins with a theatrical and capricious concerto in G minor RV331, and it also includes a concerto in B minor that cultivates the more intense colours that scordatura can bring about and a ravishingly florid example that is entitled ‘L’amoroso’. In all of these Riccardo Minasi as solo violinist and director realises every dramatic gesture and contrast, but in some ways the tone of the violin is a little dry. Some listeners may therefore find ...
