THE VIVALDI PROJECT

• Boccherini: Trio in D major - I. Adagio

FANFARE 2017 WANT LIST [Michael DeSapio]

“The trio performs these works with skill and energy. It is clear that they have devoted long hours to how the phrasing and contours of the works can sound to make them come alive. This is superb playing that will certainly lead to a renewed interest in the genre. This is a great disc to have and is highly recommended.”

Bertil van Boer, Fanfare [November/December 2016]

“The Vivaldi Project, here making its debut recording, gives us period string playing of a high caliber. Voluptuously vocal string sonorities are anchored in a driving rhythmic pulse that never turns abrasive, with phrases exquisitely contoured and articulated. These performances exude great joy as well as stylistic expertise... [the instruments] ring out with warm, full, resonant sound. This is a fine-sounding recording... This enlightening disc will give you a renewed appreciation of the string trio... It will also leave you with a taste for some under-appreciated 18th-century composers. Although all the music is worthwhile, the Campioni and Giardini strike me as particular gems.”

Michael De Sapio, Fanfare [November/December 2016]

“This is indeed a pleasant way to explore some little-known classical works written for a not too common instrumentation... The music is played with taste and warmth by this female trio, and the gradual changes of style contribute to a program that is beautifully organized and gives us a lot to think about. It is recorded with fine clarity and balance.”

Moore, American Record Guide [November/December 2016]

“your library needs a copy of this in its collection... The music sparkles and the playing is exceptional”

CD Hotlist: New Releases for Libraries [October 2016]

“[The Vivaldi Project] recently has branched out in an intriguing way. They’ve devoted themselves to a largely unknown repertoire of string trios from the Classical era and begun to record the results of their research... The Vivaldi Project musicians have been delighted to discover that string trios from the late 18th and early 19th centuries are richly diverse in content, structure, and even instrumentation... The musicians have found that the writing in many Classical trios tends to be highly virtuosic, calling upon each instrument to stand out both in acrobatic and poetic contexts as they engage in artistic conversation.”

Donald Rosenberg, Early Music America [September 2016]

“The string trio tends to be overlooked today. Yet from the classical period on there have been some wonderful examples. The Vivaldi Project, a trio with plenty of spunk and precision, give us seven great examples… Trios by JC Bach, Campioni, Boccherini, Franz Joseph Haydn, Cannabich, Giardini, Cambini all give us wonderfully clean lines and lots of chance for the trio to show off their brio energy... There is a nicely busy, energetically configured set of lines for the players to delve into and the Vivaldi Project show us they are up for it. The clean simplicity and lyricism speak as directly to us now as they no doubt did then... The trios in the hands of the Vivaldi Project have a charm and sonorousness all their own. This is a real change of pace listen. After hours of heavy fare, one turns to this program with no little delight. Definitely recommended.”

Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Classical Review [August 2016]

[ * * * * ] “All the world première recordings on this splendid disc are worthy of a place in chamber recitals... There are many surprises on this fascinating CD... these are true chamber pieces, intended for what was in effect salon performance... Melodies flow easily, harmonies are pleasant, and balance is always carefully thought through... The members of The Vivaldi Project, who apparently had a great time digging out these works from the dust heaps of musical history, also appear to have a grand time performing them... [the works on display here are] genial and highly attractive...examples of small-chamber-group thinking in the Classical era.”

Mark J. Estren, InfoDad [August 2016]

“Only a handful of string trios from the Classical period have survived as a part of the modern day repertoire, but might there be other musical gems waiting to be rediscovered? The resulting disc offers a resounding yes to that question. The pieces here are stylish, charming and full of inventive writing within the lighter texture of the trio setting. The performances are superb -- sensitive and vital. The detective work that went into uncovering these works makes this release an important contribution to Classical chamber repertoire. The committed performances make this a disc to love.”

Colorado Public Radio [August 2016]

“A storm of electrifying improvisation impelled by a throbbing metrical pulse”

The Washington Post

“The Vivaldi Project has helped to reinsert our sense of wonder and surprise at music that will never sound old.”

Classical Voice of North Carolina

It is curious that only a few Classical string trios survive as celebrated works for today’s performers and audiences. These are Beethoven’s Op.9 set of three trios, the two youthful works of Schubert (the first unfinished), and the grand six- movement Divertimento in E-flat by Mozart, notably the sole representative from the 18th century. All are truly masterful works, frequently performed and recorded, but which naturally beg the question “Is this really all there is?” A little research quickly unearthed a whole history of string trios from many of the 18th century’s most prolific and eminent composers. Those represented on this CD alone collectively contributed upwards of 200 works–exhibiting an extraordinary variety of textures and expressions, as well as astonishing instrumental techniques. The string trio is revealed not only as a flexible and exciting genre in its own right, but also as playing an important role in the story of chamber music.


Praised for its brilliant and expressive playing, The Vivaldi Project, co-directed by Elizabeth Field and Stephanie Vial, is dedicated to presenting innovative programs of Baroque and Classical string repertoire that combine scholarship and  performance to both educate and delight audiences. The period instrument ensemble takes its name from the virtuoso violinist and innovative composer Antonio Vivaldi in recognition of his pivotal position between earlier Baroque and later Classical composers (those well known and beloved as well as those rarely heard).

Violinist Elizabeth Field, distinguished for her passionate and stylistic playing on both period and modern instruments, is the founder of The Vivaldi Project. Field is concertmaster of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and also performs with a wide variety of ensembles throughout the United States: from Washington D.C.’s acclaimed Opera Lafayette to the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. In addition to period instrument recordings for Hungaroton, Naxos, and Dorian, Field has performed and recorded extensively for Deutsche Grammophon with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Field holds a DMA from Cornell University in 18th-century performance practice and has held professorships at Sacramento State University and the University of California at Davis. She has served as a regular guest teacher at The Curtis Institute and is an adjunct professor at George Washington University. Her DVD with fortepianist Malcolm Bilson, Performing the Score, explores 18th-century violin/piano repertoire and has been hailed by Emanuel Ax as both “truly inspiring” and “authoritative.”

Allison Edberg Nyquist’s violin playing has been described as impeccable, with unerring intonation and an austere beauty. She is concertmaster of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra and a member of Ensemble Voltaire, The Vivaldi Project, and Baroque Band (Chicago). She performs frequently with Chatham Baroque and at the Indianapolis Early Music Festival. Her discography includes recordings for the Eclectra, Delos, and Centaur labels. Nyquist has served on the faculties of Indiana State University, DePauw University, Ohio State, the Interlochen Arts Camp, and Lawrence University. A Tennessee native, she is often headed south as the newly appointed Artistic Director of Music City Baroque, Nashville’s baroque orchestra, and adjunct professor of baroque violin at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music.

Stephanie Vial is a widely respected cellist, praised for her technical flair and expressive sense of phrasing. Vial performs regularly in early music ensembles throughout the United States and has given solo and chamber music concerts, lectures, and master classes at numerous universities and institutions: including The Shrine to Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, The University of Virginia, Duke University, and The Curtis Institute of Music. Vial holds a DMA in 18th-century performance practice from Cornell University. Her book, The Art of Musical Phrasing in the Eighteenth Century: Punctuating the Classical “Period” was praised by Malcolm Bilson as “inspired scholarship” and “essential reading.” She has recorded for the Dorian, Naxos, Hungaroton, and Centaur labels. Vial is currently a lecturer at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


The Vivaldi Project’s educational arm, The Institute for Early Music on Modern Instruments (EMMI), offers professional string players and advanced students the opportunity to study historical performance practices using their own modern instruments. [www.thevivaldiproject.org]
  JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH (1735-1782)
SONATA IN D MAJOR, B.36 (c. 1755-1762) for two violins and basso
I. Allegro assai
II. Allegro grazioso

CARLO ANTONIO CAMPIONI (1720-1788)
SONATA IN G MINOR, OP.1, NO.2 (1756) for two violins with a thorough bass for harpsichord or violoncello
I. Andante adagio
II. Allegro con brio assai
III. Allegro assai

LUIGI BOCCHERINI (1743-1805)
TRIO IN D MAJOR, OP.2, NO.4 (1760) per due violini et basso
I. Adagio
II. Allegro con spiritoso
III. Fuga Allegro

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)
DIVERTIMENTO IN B MINOR, H. V:3 (c. 1750-1766) for two violins and basso
I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Tempo di Menuet

CHRISTIAN CANNABICH (1731-1798)
TRIO IN B-FLAT MAJOR, OP.3, NO.1 (1773) a deux violons et violoncelle
I. Andante con expressione
II. Allegro

FELICE GIARDINI (1716-1796)
TRIO IN F MAJOR, OP.20, NO.2 (1778) for a violin, tenor and violoncello
I. Andante
II. Adagio
III. Allegro assai

GIUSEPPE MARIA CAMBINI (1746-1825)
TRIO CONCERTANT IN A MAJOR, OP.33, NO.1 (c. 1780s) pour violon, alto et violoncelle
I. Allegro con grazia
II. Amoroso e moderato
 



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