Suite italienne: Vivaldi, Sollima, Stravinsky in Bloomington, MN

The market is awash in sprightly recordings of interwar neoclassic music by a great variety of performers. However, violinist
Jonian Ilias Kadesha
and the
CHAARTS Chamber Artists
take a fresh step forward with
Suite italienne
. The program mixes Baroque music, a famed 20th century work in the neoclassic style, and a contemporary piece of considerable interest,
Giovanni Sollima
's
Concerto for violin, strings, lute, and percussion ("Tyche")
, subtitled after the Greek goddess of fate. It is a five-movement work that scatters quotations from
Dowland
,
Byrd
, and
Vivaldi
over a contemporary canvas with several solo parts and generally a concertante treatment of the ensemble. The work was written for
Kadesha
and here receives its premiere recording; it might profitably be taken up by other groups. The title work is
Stravinsky
own suite
from his ballet
Pulcinella
, here remade once again for violin, harpsichord, and strings by
Andreas Fleck
, and losing none of its perennial charm in the process. Hear
's excellent control in the "Gavotta con due variazione" movement. The opening act is
Violin Concerto in D major, RV 208 ("Il grosso mogul")
, perhaps not actually written for an Indian potentate (or depicting a diamond he owned), but one of
's most imposing concepts, and one that is given its full power and virtuosity by
. It is a wonderful program, by turns splendid and wry, and it marks some important rising talents in both the violin and orchestral fields. ~ James Manheim