Corelli, Vivaldi and Galuppi

On this CD:

1. Work(s) Unspecified Concerto for 2 violins in A major
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi

2. Double Violin Concerto, for 2 violins, strings & continuo in D Major, RV 512
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi

3. Concerto Grosso in G minor ("Christmas Concerto"), Op. 6/8
Composed by Arcangelo Corelli

4. Concerto for 2 violins, viola & cello in G major
Composed by Baldassare Galuppi

5. Concerto Grosso in D major, Op. 6/4
Composed by Arcangelo Corelli

Tracks:

Con in C, RV 537: Allegro - Jeffrey Segal
Con in C, RV 537: Largo - Jeffrey Segal
Con in C, RV 537: Allegro - Jeffrey Segal
Tito Manlio, RV, 738: Combatta Un Gentil Cor - Niklas Eklund/Maria Keohane
Son in D: Grave
Son in D: Allegro
Son in D: Grave
Son in D: Allegro
Son in D: Allegro
La Flora: Trombe D'Ausonia - Niklas Eklund/Maria Keohane
Con in D: Allegro
Con in D: Adagio
Con in D: Presto
Con in D: Adagio
Con in D: Allegro
La Statira: Vien Con Nuova Orribil Guerra - Niklas Eklund/Maria Keohane/Jeffrey Segal
Son in D: Grave
Son in D: Allegro
Son in D: Grave
Son in D: Allegro
Son in D: Grave
Son in D: Allegro
Alla Tromba Della Fama - Niklas Eklund/Maria Keohane
Sinf Avanti Il Barcheggio: Allegro
Sinf Avanti Il Barcheggio: Andante
Sinf Avanti Il Barcheggio: Allegro
Sinf Avanti Il Barcheggio: Allegro
Griselda, RV 718: Agitata Da Due Venti
Son in D: Grave - Jeffrey Segal
Son in D: Allegro - Jeffrey Segal
Son in D: Adagio - Jeffrey Segal
Son in D: Allegro - Jeffrey Segal

Customer Reviews:

exquisite playing, but by this point in the series he's used up most of the first-rate repertoire.......2007-04-26

Of the first four volumes in Eklund's Art of the Baroque Trumpet series, I've enjoyed numbers one and three the most. Volume One is a selection of some of the greatest works of the Baroque trumpet concerto repertoire, and Volume Three a recital of duets with soprano (presenting a nearly identical program to Wynton Marsalis' Baroque Duet album, and possibly outdoing it, to my ears). Both of those albums evince an expressive elegance and flawless technical execution that are truly breathtaking, from Eklund as from all concerned; both probably deserve a place one anyone's list of the top ten greatest classical solo trumpet albums ever recorded.

(Volume 2, a recital for trumpet and organ, is timbrally monotonous and the repertoire is not particularly good, so that it gets a bit tedious. Volume 4, also trumpet concerti, is not as well done interpretively: there's a rushed quality to the readings, even an absent-mindedness.)

This, Volume 5, alternates trumpet concerti with more Baroque opera duets with soprano, so it recapitulates the best of the series. Once again the pieces are astonishingly well-played and the interpretations fresh, sensitive, and exciting. The only problem is that having gong through four hours' worth of this repertoire already, on the previous volumes, Eklund is starting to run out of first-rate repertoire to play. He's strating to get into "filler" material, in other words; not entirely, but aside from the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets and a couple of the duets with soprano, this program does not represent Baroque writing of the first order.

Great Baroque Trumpet.......2007-02-23

Naxos is often marked down because it is a discount label, but it has turned out its share of excellent CDs, and this is one. We have a well chosen program of Baroque trumpet works by Italian composers, Vivaldi, Corelli, Ziani, Torelli, Albinoni, Galuppi, Stradella and Franceschini. The program opens with the best version I have heard of Vivaldi's grand concerto for two trumpets, and includes works for soprano and trumpet that are just wonderful. The balance between trumpet and strings is perfect. The soloist, Niklas Eklund is probably the best baroque trumpeter of the time, in my opinion better than Wynton Marsalis.
This is great baroque music, superbly played. Very highly recommended.

Eklund's Trumpet Playing--It's a Natural!.......2003-09-23

Having read good things about Niklas Eklund's "Art of the Baroque Trumpet" series on Naxos, I started sampling with this Italian concert and was not disappointed. All that I had read about the beauty and purity of Eklund's tone and steadiness of his intonation are true. In fact, in contradistinction to the many good modern-instrument performances of some of the more famous works on this disc, such as the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets, Eklund and his colleagues are not in the game for sheer virtuosic sport. Hence, this concerto does not dazzle with breakneck speed as in some performances; instead, you can trace the beauty of the musical line and savor individual note production and contrapuntal interplay.

This is true as well in the arias, where Swedish singer Maria Keohane proves the perfect partner for Eklund, matching the mellowness of the natural trumpet with a darkly burnished soprano. Their collaboration highlights the finest music on the CD: Albinoni's "Vien con nuova orribil guerra"--brilliantly scored for two trumpets, two oboes, and string--and Baldassare Gallupi's "Alla tromba della Fama," with its pretty echo effects and scintillating cadenzas. Keohane even has a virtuoso turn all to herself in Vivaldi's picturesque "Agitata da due venti," which paints the scene of a boat tossed by two winds.

But there is lots of wonderfully colorful music here, including fine works from the High Baroque by Giuseppi Torelli and interesting pieces of the Mid Baroque by Zani, Stradella, and Fanceschini.