Vivaldi: The Four Seasons.(Sound recording review)

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons. Janine Jansen, violin; baroque ensemble. Decca B0005298-02.

First, some minor quibbles: I tend to be suspicious of album covers that put the artist's name above the composer's and in a typeface two or three time bigger, as is the case here. It makes me wonder if perhaps the record company isn't hyping the artist at the expense of the music. Next, I'm equally leery when the artist's picture appears on more pages of the booklet insert than does text. In this case, Janine Jansen is a very attractive young violinist and her picture in a low-cut evening gown appears fully eight times--on the front and back booklet cover, five times within, and again on the back of the CD. Then, one can't help noticing that the disc includes only the four "Seasons" concertos, totaling less than 40 minutes, which is short measure for a full-price release.

Those concerns aside, Ms. Jansen does play lovely music in a most skillful manner, and if it's only "The Four Seasons" you're looking for, this new issue makes a worthwhile consideration. The several things it has going for it include a good performance, an unusually small ensemble, and a period-instruments approach.

Taken one at a time, Ms. Jansen, playing a Stradivari on loan to her from the Stradivari Society of Chicago, plays the concertos in ...