This delightful miscellany of concertos by Vivaldi for one and two oboes—in a single instance, here, they are joined by a pair of clarinets—engaged my attention and provoked my admiration from start to finish. The American oboist Stephen Hammer is an artist for whom I have for some time had a high regard. This new disc confirms my earlier impressions of his being one of the very finest baroque oboe players around. He and Christopher Hogwood have achieved a happy partnership which realizes on the one hand the exuberant vitality of Vivaldi's rhythms, and on the other the rich seam of fantasy running through so much of his music. From this particular conjunction of talent I have been reaping rewards with an insatiable appetite.
Vivaldi wrote inventively for the oboe and few if any of his 18 or so surviving solo concertos for the instrument are disappointing. Stephen Hammer and Frank de Bruine have picked four of the best constructed and most alluring of them, taking two concertos each. They join forces in the D minor Concerto for two oboes, and are further joined by Eric Hoeprich and Antony Pay for one of Vivaldi's two concertos for two oboes and two clarinets (RV559). The latter piece is effectively written with the focus on the contrasting sonorities of the single and double reed families; but musically it is less satisfying than the solo concertos here, all of which have especially affecting slow movements. However, in the case of RV457, one of two concertos which Vivaldi adapted from works for bassoon, it is the originality of the tuttis of the opening movement which most eagerly calls for attention. Here, wide intervals, restless string figures and a Lombardic rhythm create a picture of undulating energy. Hammer negotiates the solo writing with consummate skill, athletic, precise in tuning and articulation and tasteful in his ornamentation. This for me was a highly promising start to the programme and I am happy to report that the remainder comes over with comparable panache. Both oboists unfailingly bring out the poetry in the music with sensibility and restraint. In short, a disc whose music and performance held me under their spell throughout. Fine recorded sound, too. Strongly recommended.'