Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, Anne Sophie-Mutter

I picked up Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, Anne Sophie-Mutter CD a few weeks ago and finally had the opportunity to really listen to it this week. The Four Seasons is a favorite of mine and my reason for choosing this particular CD is that the reviews indicated that it was done differently from the norm. I already have an excellent recording of The Four Seasons by Lara St. John so figured something different would add to my library rather than just be a duplication by another artist.

While I can tell that some aspects of it are certainly different, I am not enough of an aficionado of classical music, any music really, to really notice the subtle differences that many people may hear. I do like the feel of this one however. What I have found to be most enjoyable is that the recording is very dynamic and because Trondheim is a small group the instrument separation and detail is far better than you'll ever get from a full orchestra. The tone and sound of the single double bass is fantastic. To me it has the full orchestra sound with the added benefit of hearing more of the sound from individual instruments. To me it is a recording where I'm drawn into their acoustics rather than it feeling like the performance is in my room.

I'm not a great reviewer, but if you enjoy The Four Seasons, I would recommend this CD.

The only downside that I can think of would be, like Horowitz recordings, the dynamic range of the music makes it difficult to listen to as background music or in the car. It's either too loud or too soft. You're always turning the volume up or down. This is, however, exactly what I want in a recording for pure listening.