Vivaldi's Cello: Yo-Yo Ma, Ton Koopman, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Spotify

While rifling through the endless, yet convenient lists of musical artists featured on Spotify, one of my newest best friends, I typed "Vivaldi" in the search box and discovered a compilation of works by the Red Priest. Illustrious and commercial-friendly pieces, like the allegro movement of the Spring concerto and the other Four Seasons, were drawn from my search query. Various artists, some who I'd never heard before, also spattered my computer screen (like Pavel Sporcl, the Czech Republic's gypsy rock-star).  I came across, however,  Yo-Yo Ma's 2004 CD release of Vivaldi's Cello.  Intrigued, I stopped searching to listen further.

   

As soon as the Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat streamed into my headphones, every nuance, though simplistic in compositional technique and form (such as ascending and descending fifth sequences and  exchanges between major and minor passages), struck me with a surprising amount of meaning and color.  I reached a moment of revelation, and I soon remembered why Baroque music is so communicative, beautiful, and majestic.

Click link for more of Vivaldi's Cello

Completely hooked and impressed, I continued to listen to the various other tracks on the CD.  Throughout the recording, Ma's phrasing is perfectly planned and speaks with vast intention yet feels natural.  He pays careful attention to the right hand (i.e., "the bow hand"), and his sound, which depicts integrity yet humility, coordinated with the dynamics he chooses, helps to convey the beauty of Vivaldi's music.  When comparing these same pieces performed by other ensembles, I found nothing which came close to the conscientious artistry that distinguishes this recording from the others.

There is a stigma surrounding Vivaldi which gives me pause. When mentioning the infamous Four Seasons in conversation,  the image of a TV or radio commercial pops up featuring a local furniture store, antique shop, or elegant car (you name it -- whatever is classic and defines an era dissociated with anyone living today). Truly, though, Vivaldi established the concerto's form and helped define the role of the soloist within the orchestra.  His works are the grist of modern and past concertos. Toddlers, middle-schoolers, and teenagers are taught his concertos, and therefore within the process, forget to appreciate them, the same way they forget to appreciate arithmetic. The luster and sheen which is so captivating about Vivaldi's compositions becomes a dull and idle trinket of the past.

Yet, after listening to Vivaldi's Cello, I felt that Yo-Yo Ma delivered something quietly magnificent.  In collaboration with Ton Koopman, (a conscientious director) and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra  ( a fantastic baroque ensemble), Ma was able to move away from the Vivaldi stigma and really create something alluring and mesmerizing.  The entire recording exhibited refined ensemble and musicianship skills, which helped bring Ma's musical intentions for Vivaldi's Cello to fruition  -- "For this music to speak with its own voice."