Giuliano Carmignola
has made a number of superb CDs of Italian
baroque music in recent years. On Archiv
0003849-02 there are concertos by Locatelli,
Vivaldi and Tartini, on Sony Classical
more than one excellent set of Vivaldi
concertos (see reviews http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/July06/Vivaldi_concertos_4776005.htm;
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Jan03/Vivaldi_vol2_lateviolinconcertos.htm;
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Jan03/Vivaldi_vol1_lateviolinconcertos.htm)
and one of the very best of the many
recordings of the Four Seasons (Sony
Classical 51352). All of these recordings
were made with the Venice Baroque Orchestra,
conducted by Andrea Marcon. His set
of Bach violin sonatas, also with Marcon
– which I haven’t heard - has been much
admired, too (Sony Classical S2K 89469).
This present CD finds
him playing Mozart, with a different
Italian chamber orchestra and a different
conductor. And, sadly, the results are
just a little on the disappointing side.
Carmignola is far too good a fiddler
for things to be without interest –
and there are some fine moments; but
too much seems rather routine, rather
lacking in the vigour and sheer panache
which characterises so many of Carmignola’s
recordings of the music of the Venetian
baroque. Words like efficient and capable
come to mind – and these are not virtues
to be sniffed at. But to do anything
full justice to Mozart, rather more
is needed. These recordings don’t seem
to have been issued previously; that
they have had to wait since 1997 to
appear may not be entirely without significance.
One problem is the
orchestral playing, which is never very
inspired and is, at times, rather dull
or colourless. Carmignola himself doesn’t
always sound as though he is fully engaged
in the project. Conductor and soloist
seem to be at odds over tempo at one
or two points in the fourth concerto.
Overall, the playing fails to convey
the music excitement of the best of
these concertos – such as the simultaneous
charm and intellectual weight of the
third concerto, the brilliant contrasts
of the final movement of the fourth,
or the Turkish ‘interruption’ in the
rondeau, tempo di menuetto which
closes the fifth.
K161 is played with
elegance and poise; in some of the slow
movements Carmignola comes into something
like his own and the solo violin line
sings out attractively. But, taken as
a whole, these fall some way short of
the best of modern recordings of the
Mozart concertos. At Brilliant’s low
price they would serve a first-time
buyer as an introduction to some fine
music. But they cannot compete with
versions such as those – choosing recordings
in a variety of performance styles –
by Arthur Grumiaux with Colin Davis
and Raymond Leppard (on Philips), Simon
Standage with Christopher Hogwood (Decca),
Monica Huggett with the Orchestra of
the Age of Enlightenment (Virgin) or
Anne-Sophie Mutter with Yuri Bashmet
and the LPO (Deutsche Grammophon).
The recorded sound
is perfectly acceptable – though the
balance rather favours the soloist –
and the booklet notes are helpful.
Glyn Pursglove
Giuliano Carmignola (violin) 
