Vivaldi in London/Interpreti Veneziani/Chasing The Dragon Audiophile Recordings/Direct to Disc vinyl

Vivaldi in London is the 2024 follow-up recording to Chasing The Dragon’s 2018 release, Vivaldi in Venice. Venice was a standard live recording, but London gets special treatment, Direct to Disc. Like most Chasing The Dragon releases, you can listen to it however you like, with either costly reel-to-reel tapes ("Our tapes are always recorded from the original copy master, to give you the closest approach to the original recording."), Direct to Disc LPs (D2D), 33 RPM Audiophile LPs, CDs, HiRes downloads, and even binaural recordings for headphone users.

I have not heard their reel-to-reel tapes, but they have a passionate following. My experience is with direct-to-disc LPs or plain old “audiophile” LPs.

I posted a video on the @AudiophiliaChannel about my experiences with two large-scale recordings (one direct to disc, one standard) and the backstory behind Chasing The Dragon Audiophile Recordings. The company is a passion project for a married couple, Mike and Françoise Valentine. Since 2014, they have produced over 20 albums, each seemingly more challenging and ambitious than the last. Vivaldi in London is their latest.

The Vivaldi LP is a double 33RPM album containing eight of Vivaldi’s brightest and best concertos, RV. 386, 242, 383 and 180 for violin, RV. 419 and 421 for cello, and RV. 546 and 547 for violin and cello.

The soloists are drawn from the small, original instrument Venetian band Interpreti Veneziani (photo above). All the instrumentalists are true virtuosos. From bass lines through harpsichord up to violins, there are no weaknesses. Technique is assured, the ensemble excellent, intonation flawless, and they all play with exquisite phrasing and musicality. Remarkable, considering the hair-raising, highwire D2D recording process.

Some baroque music enthusiasts quip that Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) composed one concerto five hundred times! Nothing could be further from the truth. Even within sets like the Opus 10 Flute Concertos (six amazingly different concertos I’ve played many times), there is a myriad of styles, melodic invention, rhythmic interest and harmonic richness (no one can do harmonic sequences through keys like The Red Priest). And what about the inspiration driving The Four Seasons? Everyone’s favourite, for good reasons.

1723 caricature of "Il prete rosso" (The Red Priest) by Pier Leone Ghezzi.

Even a straight listening session through all four sides of Vivaldi in London retains maximum interest due to the fabulous playing and recording. These Direct to Disc Dragon records are not cheap, but what a marvellous addition to your collection they’ll be. And not only the D2D Dragons. The standard audiophile Scheherazade I own is superb, too. If you’ve jumped the audiophile shark into reel-to-reel, then more power to you.

Here, the concerto soloists are Giovanni Agazzi and Nicola Granillo on violin and both gentlemen are splendid, but I must make special mention of cellist Davide Amadio. His tone and phrasing are unwaveringly beautiful. A superb musician. But, a bravo to all the players. They’re dynamite.

As for the D2D recording, it’s Chasing the Dragon’s best yet. Like their excellent 2016 España from the same large space in London’s Air Studios (see top photo for recording location and instrumental placement), there is air aplenty around each instrument in a large, beautiful space. The dynamics are vibrant and the unique HIP instrumental timbres sound thrilling as they navigate Vivaldi’s never-ending melodic and harmonic elegance and style. The immersive sound is intoxicating. And I cannot recommend the release high enough. Bravo Mike and Françoise and the entire Chasing The Dragon team.

Available from Chasing The Dragon. No financial affiliation.