The Four Seasons on mandolin

[mad dawg]

I have a couple performances of the Four Seasons on CD that I really enjoy, one with more standard instrumentation, and one with Baroque period bowed instruments, but are there any performances on CD that you know of featuring plucked strings, especially mandolin?

[Alex Timmerman]

Hello Mad Dawg,

My mandolin chamber Orchestra ´Het Consort´ has performed Vivaldi´s Winter several times and we are thinking of doing all the seasons. Perhaps a CD recording would indeed be nice.

But there is a bell ringing somewhere that this has already been done (and recorded) by a Russian domra (or mandolin) ensemble. Perhaps you should try your luck and Google internet a bit further.


Best and good luck,

Alex

[Eugene]

Not quite the Four Seasons, but Carlo Aonzo's Orchestra a Pizzico Ligure recorded several Vivaldi concerti, replacing the typical bowed string ensemble with mandolin orchestra and with Carlo (along with Paolo Esposito on RV 532) taking all solos on mandolin. It's great fun, but I don't know that it's widely available.

Carlo Aonzo. 2004. Antonio Vivaldi: Concerti per Mandolino e Concerti per Orchestra. EDT, WM035.

[Plamen Ivanov]

We tried to play the slow (second) part of the Winter as a part of our restaurant repertoire, but it was tiring, because it needs non-stop tremolo. As a part of a two hours program, it`s tiring, although it`s short.

[Alex Timmerman]

Hello Mad Dawg,

Here is a recording of the Four Seasons by the Japanese ´Romanee-Conti Mandolin Orchestra´.
The soloist on that CD is Mr. Kazuhiko Takahashi.
On the photo that I have attached here, mr. Takahashi is pictured with an Embergher mandolin Tipo A model.

For further information click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page. (http://plectrum-web.hp.infoseek.co.jp/cd/takahashi-e.html)


Greetings,

Alex