Great Intro to "Il Prete Rosso"
Despite the mix of conductors, orchestras, soloists and venues, this compilation of concerti spanning the spectrum of Vivaldi's compositions for the form (which he standardized for more than 250 years) is quite excellent. It's a perfect primer/intro to the composer known as "Il Prete Rosso", Italian for "The Red Priest" for his shock of red hair. The orphans for which these works were written must have been able to give the best virtuosi in Europe a run for their money. The Cnto for 2 Trumpets which opens the disc is almost as flawless as the better known version by Sir Neville Marriner. The rest of the concerti also achieve that level of quality. If you're looking for the disc to dive into Vivaldi, here it is.
