Soloist Jonathan Cohen brings this out in this Hyperion recording he identifies with Vivaldi the man as expressed in the music, and attempts to channel out the eloquence this music contains. This is part of what makes his music so great, that the best of it is a window into his soul, whereas so many of his contemporaries were satisfied to write music that was 'music,' well organized and socially acceptable, but not personable. However, its corresponding Adagio movement is warm and humanistic - very few first-hand comments from Vivaldi have come down to us in written form outside of the poems he appended to The Four Seasons, but the character and personality of Vivaldi the man shine through in movements like these. To describe one concerto, the Cello concerto in A minor, RV 420, contains some strikingly experimental ideas in its concluding Allegro with its 'X'-shaped figures in the strings and stuttering rhythmic gestures. This selection of seven concertos is taken from the compass of Vivaldi's entire career, and the variety of ideas he tries out among them is of such expansiveness that it is impossible to summarize in a few words. Despite their prominence, Vivaldi's cello concertos haven't been recorded very extensively, and this recording seems the best ever, even as its competition include some tough players - Ofra Harnoy and Raphael Wallfisch being among those who have visited this literature beforehand.

These are included, along with five others, on a superb Hyperion collection, Vivaldi: Cello Concertos, recorded by promising young English cellist Jonathan Cohen in his first solo outing, backed by the redoubtable King's Consort under its director James King. The first among them, namely Cello concerto in G minor, RV 416, and Cello concerto in A minor, RV 420, are also the earliest works specifically designated as cello concertos known to exist, and coincidentally are the earliest datable concertos of Vivaldi, copied in 1709-1710.

Antonio Vivaldi is the all-time champ among composers of cello concertos although not all of the concertos accredited to him are absolutely regarded as authentic, his believed total of 28 is the highest number of cello concertos written by any one composer.

Vivaldi cello concerto for two cellos