The Four Seasons by Ars Antiqua Austria / Gunar Letzbor

Ars Antiqua Austria / Gunar Letzbor

The Four Seasons

Price: € 19.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917270020
Catnr: CC 72700
Release date: 09 September 2016
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917270020

Catalogue number
CC 72700

Release date
09 September 2016

"In the Early Music Festival, Letzbor and his ensemble will perform a series of concerts at the end of November that will once again sparkle."

Tijdschrift Oude Muziek - TOM, 01-4-2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Austrian Baroque music takes center stage in the repertoire of this unusual Baroque ensemble. The music performed at the Imperial Court in Vienna at this time was initially heavily influenced by the music of Italy, later by that of France; Spanish court ceremonial also had important artistic effects in Vienna. The typical Austrian sound of this era was characterized by the impact of its many royal domains. The political and societal boundaries of Baroque Austria stretched much further than nowadays. Elements of Slavic, Hungarian and Alpine folk music styles had lasting effects on art music, making up its specific sound. But the Austrian sound also reflects the temperament and the character of the people of the time: placed within the melting pot of many diverse cultures, amalgamating Mediterranean zest for life, Slavic melancholy, French formalism, Spanish royal ceremony and the original Alpine elements of the German-speaking period. This mixture of court music and folk music with a dance-like character outlines the typically Austrian sound. The ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria is dedicated to musicological research of Austrian Baroque composers. The abundance of rediscovered works led to several successful premiere recordings, including albums featuring the works of R. Weichlen, H.I.F. Biber, G. Arnold, F. J. Aumann, and more. In the words of conductor Gunar Letzbor: “It is almost impossible nowadays to perform Vivaldi’s music without any preconceptions, even if one engages with it only rarely. Vivaldi’s sound is ubiquitous… There is so much to discover amongst his works, away from mainstream sounds. This recording and its preparation: practicing in peace and quiet, trying out sounds, receiving and discarding ideas, taking in the texts, rediscovering melodies, and if possible, never listening to any Vivaldi recordings.”

Ars Antiqua Austria speelt een vrijzinnige en rauwe Vier jaargetijden
De Vier jaargetijden, de vioolconcerten van Antonio Vivaldi. Zo vaak gespeeld. Maar weinig zoals de Oostenrijkse dirigent en violist Gunar Letzbor dat, met zijn Ars Antiqua Austria, in deze uitvoering doet. Hij krijgt het voor elkaar de muziek fris en onbedorven te laten klinken.
Hoe hij dat doet? Zoals Letzbor zelf zegt: 'Oefen in rust en vrede, probeer verschillende klanken uit. Neem de tijd nieuwe ideeën te ontwikkelen, maar heb ook de moed om ze weer te verwerpen. Verdiep je in de tekst en herontdek de melodieën. En als het maar enigszins kan: luister niet naar welke Vivaldi opname dan ook. En dat is lastig met de alomtegenwoordige muzak.'

Gunar Letzbor richtte het ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria op in 1989 in Linz, met als doel het publiek te laten kennismaken met de Oostenrijkse barokmuziek. Tot nu toe schonk Ars Antiqua Austria weinig aandacht aan Vivaldi, hoewel de verleiding groot was. Alleen al zijn naam zorgt voor een hoog bezoekersaantal. Waarom dan toch de Vier jaargetijden? Toen Letzbor 'La Cetra' voor het eerst op de viool speelde herkende hij de typische Vivaldi trekjes, waaraan hij een hekel had. Tegelijkertijd vond hij verrassend genoeg, los van de overbekende klanken, dat er nog heel wat te ontdekken viel in de werken van Vivaldi. Vandaar dat Letzbor zich inmiddels heeft verzoend met de muziek van Vivaldi. En met succes, zo oordeelde het NRC Handelsblad: 'Verfrissend: de intonatie was bij vlagen behoorlijk vrijzinnig, maar zo lui en rauw en puberaal obstinaat klonk Vivaldi zelden.', 5 sep 2016.

De opname eindigt met het vioolconcert in D mol van František Jiránek. Hij studeerde ten tijde van Vivaldi in Venetië, misschien wel bij de meester zelf.

Wie schafft man es, das wohl am häufigsten aufgenomme Stück der Musikgeschichte frisch und unverbraucht klingen zu lassen? Diese Frage stellten sich Ars Antiqua Austria und Gunar Letzbor für die vorliegende Einspielung.
Und die Antwort scheint so simpel: Übe in Ruhe und Frieden, probiere verschiedene Klänge aus, nimm dir die Zeit neue Ideen zu entwickeln und hab den Mut sie auch wieder aus zu sortieren, vertiefe dich in den Text und entdecke die Melodien wieder. Und wenn irgendwie möglich: höre dir keine Vivaldi-Aufnahme an. Gerade letzteres ist gar nicht leicht, bedenkt man die Omnipräsenz der Vier Jahreszeiten in Kaufhäusern, Autobahnraststätten, Restaurants und Werbeclips.

Doch warum Vivaldi? Warum die Vier Jahreszeiten und warum gerade jetzt? ‚Diese Fragen stellen sich sicherlich viele Freunde, die den Werdegang von Ars Antiqua Austria seit Jahren mitverfolgt haben. Es ist kein Geheimnis, dass wir bisher dem Maestro aus Venedig nur wenig Beachtung geschenkt haben. Die Verlockung, seine Musik auf unsere Konzertprogramme zu setzen, war sicherlich immer groß. Allein sein Name garantiert viele Besucher und erleichtert Verhandlungen mit Konzertveranstaltern. Die aufgebotene Continuobegleitung wird immer reicher und aufwendiger, der erzielte Ausdruck immer naturalistischer, der Geräuschpegel bei den einschlägigen Stellen immer martialischer. Man überbietet sich mit Geschwindigkeitsorgien, zeigt völlig unkeusch geile Virtuosität. Da soll es ja was Schlechteres geben! Unkeuschheit ist außerdem modern und umgibt den modernen Menschen auf Schritt und Tritt, von schrillen Massenmedien bereitwillig dargeboten. Wer spielt eigentlich die Läufe bei den Jahreszeiten am schnellsten? Wer kratzt, quietscht, heult, säuselt, klopft und donnert daselbst am extremsten? Wer hier punkten will, muss alles Bisherige überbieten. Es ist wie bei einer Sportveranstaltung. Da zählen Millimeter und Hundertstelsekunden! Der Reizpegel muss ständig angehoben werden. Man gewöhnt sich eben schnell an das immer extremer werdende Niveau der dargebrachten musikalischen Parameter. Natürlich ist das alles völlig natürlich und passiert auch in anderen Bereichen unseres Lebens. Man denke an das Würzen von Speisen. Dem Kind brennt beim Genuss einer kleinen Dosis Peperoncino bereits der Mund, während sich der Erwachsene eifrig nachwürzt. Der Ältere hat sich durch unzählige Wiederholung des Würzens mit Peperoncino an die Schärfe gewöhnt, dadurch eine höhere Reizschwelle erreicht. Die übliche Dosis reicht nicht mehr, um seinen Gaumen zu reizen. Aber leider, alles was zu viel ist, ist auch ungesund! Abwechslung ist das Zauberwort! Die Stärke von Antonio ist sicherlich, dass er versucht und es versteht, die Instrumente zum Klingen zu bringen. Die Strukturen der Dreiklangszerlegung, der Tonleiter, der Sequenz und der Tonwiederholung sind alle dazu angetan, die Klanglichkeit des Instruments zu erhöhen. Das Prinzip ist einfach - größere Einheiten ersetzen kleinere Einheiten. Vivaldis Hauptinstrument ist die Geige. Er schafft es, sie in technischer Sicht voll auszunutzen, ohne dass sich klangliche Einbußen aus den enormen technischen Anforderungen ergeben. Hier treffen wir uns als Lehrer und als Musiker zugleich. Inzwischen habe ich mit Vivaldi noch größere Freundschaft geschlossen. Es gibt ja noch so viel bei ihm zu entdecken, abseits von den Mainstreamklängen.’ Gunar Letzbor

Abgerundet wird die Aufnahme mit dem Violinkonzert in d-moll von František Jiránek, von dem wir wissen, dass er zu Zeiten Vivaldis in Venedig war und dort studierte. Vielleicht beim Meister selbst.

Artist(s)

Ars Antiqua Austria

Austrian Baroque music takes centre stage in the repertoire of this unusual Baroque ensemble. The music performed at the imperial court in Vienna at this time was initially heavily influenced by the music of Italy, later by that of France; Spanish court ceremonial also had important artistic effects in Vienna. The typical Austrian sound of this era was characterised by the impact of its many royal domains. The political and societal boundaries of Baroque Austria stretched much further than nowadays. Elements of Slavic, Hungarian and Alpine folk music styles had lasting effects on art music, making up its specific sound. But the Austrian sound also reflects the temperament and the character of the people of the time: placed within the melting pot of many diverse cultures, amalgamating Mediterranean zest for life, Slavic melancholy, French formalism, Spanish royal ceremony and the original Alpine elements of the German-speaking region. This mixture of court music and folk music with a dance-like character outlines the typically Austrian sound.
Alongside many concert performances, the early years of the ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria were dedicated to musicological research of Austrian Baroque composers. The abundance of rediscovered works led to several successful premiere recordings: albums featuring the works of R. Weichlein, H.I.F. Biber, F. Conti, G.B. Viviani, G.A.P. Mealli, G. Arnold, A. Caldara, B.A. Aufschnaiter, J.J. Vilsmayr, J.P. Vejvanovsky, J. Schmelzer, G. Muffat, W.L. Radolt, C. Mouthon, J.B. Hochreither, F.J. Aumann and J.S. Bach were met with enthusiastic approbation from the international music press.
Ars Antiqua Austria have been designing their own concert series at the Vienna Konzerthaus since 2002, and at the Brucknerhaus Linz since 2008. The ensemble is leading a cycle of performances arranged over several years entitled “Klang der Kulturen – Kultur des Klanges” (“Sound of the Cultures – Culture of Sound”), consisting of ninety concerts set to be performed in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Krakow, Venice, Ljubljana, Mechelen and Lübeck.
Recent performances include concerts at the Festival de Musique Ancienne de Ribeauvillé, Berliner Tage für Alte Musik, Festival Printemps des Arts de Nantes, Mozartfest Würzburg (an opera production), Tage Alter Musik Herne, Festival de Musique de Clisson et de Loire Atlantique, Folles Journées de Nantes and Tokyo, Musée d’Unterlinden Colmar, Printemps Baroque du Sablon, Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival Bach de Lausanne, MAfestival Brugge, Bologna Festival, Vendsyssel Festival, Concerti della Normale di Pisa, Resonanzen Wien, Klangbogen Wien, Monteverdi Festival Cremona, Bayerische Staatsoper and the Salzburger Festspiele. The ensemble has also been welcomed in the USA and in Japan.
The CD recording with mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink (four cantatas by Francesco Conti) was awarded a Diapason d’or only one week after being issued. Gunar Letzbor and his ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria were presented with the Cannes Classical Award 2002 for their recording of the Capricci Armonici by G.B. Viviani.

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Gunar Letzbor (conductor)

Gunar Letzbor studied composition, conducting and violin at Linz, Salzburg and Cologne. His encounters with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Reinhard Goebel ignited a deep passion for period instruments and performance practice, leading him to perform extensively with Musica Antiqua Köln, the Clemencic Consort, La Folia Salzburg, Armonico Tributo Basel and the Wiener Akademie. Gunar Letzbor founded his own ensemble, Ars Antiqua Austria, an instrumental ensemble of varying size dedicated in particular to the exploration of the rich, but neglected, baroque repertoire of his native country and its neighbours. Corollaries of this voyage of re-discovery have been not only the unexpected finds of musical masterpieces otherwise destined to languish in obscurity, but also the articulation of a uniquely central-European instrumental sound and its often deeply spiritual inspiration. As a soloist and with Ars Antiqua Austria, Letzbor has made numerous recordings (including several world premieres), featuring works by Mozart, Bach, Biber, Muffat, Aufschnaiter, Viviani, Schmelzer, Weichlein, Vejvanovsky, Vilsmayr and Conti. Particulary remarkable was his world's premiere recording of Sonate for violin solo by J.J.Vilsmayr and J.P.Westhoff.

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Barbara Konrad (violin)

Markus Miesenberger (viola)

The lyrical tenor Markus Miesenberger received his education as a singer in Vienna with KS Robert Holl, KS Artur Korn and Sebastian Vittucci as well as in the fields violin and baroque viola with Ernst Kovacic and Michi Gaigg in Salzburg, Linz and Vienna.
Appearances as a concert and lied singer, in operas and as a musician led the artist through Austria, to important European music centres in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, to Israel, to Mexico and to many more. Thus, it was and is beside regular appearances at the Viennese music association and at the Viennese concert hall to guest with numerous festivals (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes Mexico City, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, MA Festival Brugge, Salzburger Festspiele, Styriarte, Carinthischer Sommer, Schubertiaden Schwarzenberg and Dürnstein, Brucknerfest Linz, Handel Festival Halle, Internationales Musikfest Hamburg, Musica antiqua of the bavarian broadcast Nürnberg, National forum of music Wroclaw, Settimana Musica Sacra di Monreale, Misteria Paschalia Krakow). He sings under the baton of famous conductors like Christian Thielemann, Pierre Andre Valade, Ralf Weikert, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Jeffrey Kahane, Gunar Letzbor, Michi Gaigg and Rubén Dubrovsky with Staatskapelle Dresden, Vienna and Hamburg Symphonic Orchestra, Ars Antiqua Austria, L’Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Bach Consort Vienna, Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra and Slovac Philharmonic Orchestra. There is also a strong artistic connection in the field of lied to his former teacher Robert Holl and the pianists David Lutz und Sir András Schiff.
On the opera stage Markus Miesenberger is to be experienced above all in roles of the Mozart’s and Haydn’s field, with baroque opera, with opera of the 20th century and with contemporary music. Engagements led him to the Neue Oper Wien, to the Theater an der Wien, to the Landestheater Linz, to the municipal theatre Bolzano and to the Tirol festival. He sang Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at Opernfestspiele Bad Hersfeld, 2018 and 2019 Jack O’Brian in Kurt Weills Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at Laeiszhalle Hamburg and Balthasar Zorn in Richard Wagners Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Christian Thielemann at Osterfestspiele Salzburg, also released on CD, and 2020 at Semperoper Dresden.
In 2011 he won the Franz Joseph Aumann Prize for new discoveries and innovative interpretation of baroque music at the international H.I.F. Biber competition.
Numerous CD productions and radio broadcasts also form a central focus of his artistic career, currently Arias for Silvio Garghetti with Neue Wiener Hofkapelle, Kriegsgeschichten and Liebesabenteuer with music from G.D. Speer with Ars Antiqua Austria (PANCLASSICS) and Psalms for Sacri Concentus 1681 (Challenge Classics).

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Jan Krigovsky (viola)

Jan Krigovsky is a double-bass player, multi-instrumentalist, musical events organiser, promoter, art director, manager, producer, publisher, dramaturge and poet. He is well known and sought after interpreter of various musical styles. As a soloist Krigovsky expresses himself with noble, temperamental and technically perfect performance. As a soloist and chamber double bass, G-violone and Vienner Violine player Krigovsky collaborates with numerous ensembles specialising in historically – developed/learned interpretation of old music. He also performs in the ensembles for contemporary music like Catalá Ensamble Trio, Alea and Collegium Wartberg. As a concert master of double bass group he performed with several orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Moderntimes 1800 and Wiener Akademie. As a soloist, he also worked with orchestras under the baton of Yuri Bashmeta, Leoš Svárovský, Martin Haselbock, Jordi Savallla and Ewald Danel.
Jan presented/introduced himself as a soloist, but also as a member of chamber ensembles performing at some of the leading festivals like Bratislava Music Festival, Melos-Étos, Prague Spring International Music Festival, Wiener Fetspiele, Salzburger Festspiele, Festspielwochen Munchen, Dresdener gen Festspiele, Jehudi Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Boston Early Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and others.
He has recorded over 150 CD_DVD titles for companies such as Decca, SDBS production, Supraphon, CPO, WDR, NDR, ZDF, Winter&Winter, ORF, Challenge records, Institut fur Tyroler, Musikforschung Innsbruck, Pan Classics, Arcana Records, Symfonia as well as for radio and television. Among his artistic partners were for example Cecilia Bartoli, Sol Gabetta, Riccardo Minasi, Steven Isserlis, Maurice Steger, Nuria Rial, Avi Avital, Gunar Letzbor, Elizabeth Wallfisch, Jürger Essl, Helene Schmidt, Dalibor Karvay, Stano Palúch, Daniel Buranovský, Martin Babjak.
Jan worked as a teacher at the Conservatory in Žilina, the Conservatory of Dezidor Kardos in Topoľčany, the Church Conservatory in Bratislava, the Masaryk University in Brno and the Janacek Academy in Brno. Since 2002 he has been working at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica. He has built wide base/foundation of amazing/outstanding double bass players in Slovakia, including Roman Patkoló, Vlado Žatko, Ján Prievozník, Filip Jaro, Romana Uhlíková and others. Krigovsky regularly teaches master classes in Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, USA, Canada and Mexico.
In 2010, he founded together with his students the Slovak Double Bass Club within which were organised master courses called BassFest Banská Bystrica, International Double Bass Competition of Carl Ditters Von Dittersdorf and hundreds of concerts. In 2013, on his initiative, the double bass quartet named Bass Band was created. In 2012 he founded Musica Perennis Iuventutis, music festival held in Senec and Musica Perennis Sancti Benedecti in Hronský Beňadik. Festivals are dedicated to helping and supporting children in material need and children with disabilities in Slovakia and abroad. At his instigation, dozens of musical works were created for solo double bass and chamber ensembles. In 2012 he established his own ensemble known as Collegium Wartberg.

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Hubert Hoffmann (theorbo)

Like most musicians of his generation, Hubert Hoffmann, a member of Austria's leading early music ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria, pursues a wide-ranging career as a continuo player with numerous ensembles performing on period instruments all over the world. His fascination for the unique blend of lute music for the Habsburg Courts is reflected in his solo projects, in which he aims to shed light upon this undeservedly neglected niche in baroque lute music repertoire. His first solo CD of works by the Bohemian Count Johann Antonin Losy was received to wide critical acclaim. The second recording of music from the lute manuscript Ms.1255 in the monastery library at Klosterneuburg for the ORF Edition of Classical Music, the first ever recording of Wenzel Ludwig Radolt's important 1701 collection of lute concertos Die allertreueste Freindin for Challenge Classics, and the music of the Vienna lutenist Karl Kohaut, also for Challenge Classics, have now been issued.
In 2012, he was appointed curator of a long-term research project in the fields of lute music, lute playing and lute restoration at Kremsmünster Abbey in Upper Austria, producing an edition of the tablatures for lute and mandora, stored in the music library there. As a part of this work he has recently recorded music of Father Ferdinand Fisher, a lute playing member of this Benedictine Monastery, also for Challenge Classic.
From 2013 to 2015 he was active as chairman of the Austrian Lute Society "ÖLG". As artistic consultant, he is also engaged in establishing a new concert series with music from the Goess Manuscripts in the historic Fronmiller Hall at Ebenthal Castle in Carinthia.

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Claire Pottinger-Schmidt (cello)

Erich Traxler (organ)

As a harpsichordist and organist Erich Traxler mainly deals with music between around 1600 and 1800. His main focus in the interpretation is on the exploration of the 'musical craft' as a basis for music in the Baroque age as well as the immediate linguistic in the music into the 19th century. His concert career includes performances as soloist on harpsichord and organ as well as chamber musician with various formations (eg L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Ars Antiqua Austria, Accentus Austria, Bach Consort Vienna, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble saitsiing, musica novantica vienna, Ensemble Castor) , Previous tours have taken him to most European countries as well as to the USA, South America, South Africa and Japan. Numerous CD and radio recordings (ORF,...

As a harpsichordist and organist Erich Traxler mainly deals with music between around 1600 and 1800. His main focus in the interpretation is on the exploration of the "musical craft" as a basis for music in the Baroque age as well as the immediate linguistic in the music into the 19th century.

His concert career includes performances as soloist on harpsichord and organ as well as chamber musician with various formations (eg L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Ars Antiqua Austria, Accentus Austria, Bach Consort Vienna, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble saitsiing, musica novantica vienna, Ensemble Castor) , Previous tours have taken him to most European countries as well as to the USA, South America, South Africa and Japan. Numerous CD and radio recordings (ORF, Gramola, WDR, Upper Austria organ organ) document his activity.

Erich Traxler received his musical education in Linz and Vienna u. a. Michael Radulescu, August Humer, Wolfgang Glüxam, Gordon Murray, Brett Leighton and Augusta Campagne. A postgraduate degree led him to Basel to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he got important impulses from musicians such as Andrea Marcon, Wolfgang Zerer, Jean-Claude Zehnder and Jesper Christensen. As organist he won 1st prizes at international competitions for organ (Goldrain / I 2003, Bochum / D 2005).

From 2013 to 2018 Erich Traxler worked as a professor for harpsichord at the Music and Art University of Vienna (MUK). Since 2018 he is at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). He also taught at masterclasses in Belgrade, Notre Dame University, USA, and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

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Friedrich Kircher (violin)

Composer(s)

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognised as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi (who had been ordained as a Catholic priest) was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had some...

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognised as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.
Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi (who had been ordained as a Catholic priest) was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had some success with expensive stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua and Vienna. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, hoping for preferment. However, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldi's arrival, and Vivaldi himself died less than a year later in poverty.

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Frantisek Jiranek

Press

In the Early Music Festival, Letzbor and his ensemble will perform a series of concerts at the end of November that will once again sparkle.
Tijdschrift Oude Muziek - TOM, 01-4-2018

Ars Antiqua Austria explores Vivaldi's sound effects in a very picturesque expressionistic manner
Fono Forum, 06-2-2017

Gunar Letzbor and Ars Antiqua Austria have certainly brought a distinctive new take on the concertos here.
Gramophone, 01-2-2017

The interpretation of Gunar Letzbor is puristic and independently, but original. Formidable!
Hifi & Records, 02-1-2017

''Impressive musictheater''
Klassieke Zaken, 01-12-2016

"Nice craftmanship, that in the energetic lecture from Ars Antiqua Austria completely suits here."
Luister, 01-11-2016

"His jokes are more subtle than Letzbor's, and the mucisians from Concerto Köln are following Sato flawlessly"
Tijdschrift Oude Muziek, 01-10-2016

Refreshing: the intonation was at some moments very liberal; but you have never heard Vivaldi this lazy, raw and adolescently obstinate.
NRC Handelsblad, 05-9-2016

Album of the week on Radio 4
Radio 4, 29-8-2016