Concerto Italiano
Vibrant, historically informed Baroque music that breathes with Italian passion. Period instruments and choral precision for moments of deep focus or quiet grandeur.
Vibrant, historically informed Baroque music that breathes with Italian passion. Period instruments and choral precision for moments of deep focus or quiet grandeur.
Concerto Italiano brings a startling, sun-drenched vitality to the Baroque repertoire. Unlike the often stiff or overly formal interpretations of early music, Rinaldo Alessandrini’s ensemble plays with a rhythmic elasticity and a sense of drama that feels immediate and human. The sound is defined by the woody, gut-string textures of period instruments and a vocal approach that treats every syllable with the weight of a theatrical performance.
What truly sets them apart is their 'Italianate' soul. They lean into the dissonances and the passionate swells of Monteverdi and Vivaldi, making 300-year-old compositions feel like they were written this morning. There is a transparency to their mix where you can hear the mechanical click of the harpsichord and the intake of breath from the singers, creating an intimate, living document of the past.
Start with their recording of Vivaldi’s 'Le Quattro Stagioni' (The Four Seasons). It is widely considered one of the most definitive and energetic versions ever recorded, stripping away modern orchestral bloat to reveal the jagged, descriptive brilliance of the original score.
Concerto Italiano is an Italian early music ensemble well known for their interpretations of Monteverdi and Vivaldi, among others. The historically informed performance ensemble was formed by the harpsichordist Rinaldo Alessandrini, and made its Rome debut with Francesco Cavalli's La Calisto in 1984. Since then, Concerto Italiano has recorded Monteverdi madrigals, which have won numerous awards, including the Gramophone Award three times. Other major international awards garnered by this ensemble include Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Prix de la Nouivelle Académie du disque, Premio internationale del disco Antonio Vivaldi (Cini Foundation), and the Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros. Concerto Italiano is under exclusive contract with OPUS 111, which is now under the umbrella of the large French label, Naïve. Most recently, with conjunction with the National University Library in Turin, Concerto Italiano has been recording all the operas and concertos of Vivaldi, many of which have not been performed for over 300 years. Highlights include Concerto Italiano's recordings of the opera L'Olimpiade, La Senna Festeggiante, Le Quattro Stagioni (hailed as one of the best versions of the work by Gramophone), Vespri Solenni per la Festa dell'Assunzione di Maria Vergine (a reconstruction of a possible Vespers for the Ascension of the Virgin Mary and 2004 Gramophone winner for Baroque Vocal), and in 2004, an entire CD devoted to Vivaldi's Concerti per Archi.
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