Vivaldi's best known work, The Four Seasons is given new life in this Audiophile Direct to Disc D2D recording from Chasing the Dragon. The Interpreti Veneziani Chamber Orchestra performs each album side live in the studio, recorded via state of the art, all-tube valve microphones, fed to a Neve Desk, and then via a pure analogue path directly to the Neumann VMS80 lathe. Pure analog delight!

• Direct To Disc cut to Vinyl
• Recorded at Air Studios
• 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Pressed at Record Industry
• Gatefold Cover

TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Classical

The Absolute Sound Top New Vinyl Release of 2016!

180g Audiophile Direct to Disc LP! A dynamic performance, pure analog delight!

Vivaldi's best known work, The Four Seasons is given new life in this Audiophile Direct to Disc recording from Chasing the Dragon. In order to make this D2D recording, the Interpreti Veneziani Chamber Orchestra performs each album side live in the studio, recorded via state of the art, all-tube valve microphones, fed to a Neve Desk, and then via a pure analogue path directly to the Neumann VMS80 lathe.

This Direct to Disc performance is a pure analog delight! The brilliantly captured session was carefully engineered, and mixed live, no overdubs! During the performance, the Neumann VMS 80 Cutting head engages the master lacquer ("stamper" used for pressing LPs) and is not stopped until the entire side is complete! The results are amazing! A more accurate recording, a greater immediacy and interaction among the players, less background noise through the elimination of master tapes, overdubs, etc. by directly cutting the recording to vinyl. A dynamic album that needs to be heard!

"The playing is extremely vigorous in places, which adds to the dynamics and drama, and credit should be given to the nine musicians in Interpreti Veneziani and the many period instruments they play...It's the combination of the original sound, coupled with the shortness and purity of the signal chain, which make this such an astonishing record ...a lot more robust that most I've heard." -Hi-Fi+ Magazine Read more!

"Producer Mike Valentine used all-tube microphones, and the sound is as you might expect... String tones were rich and fully expressed, yet the somewhat distantly placed harpsichord had appropriate transient zip and definition." - Michael Fremer, Stereophile Magazine Read more!

"...the playing is spirited and unrestrained and the recording superbly transparent and three-dimensional... For this kind of small, nine person ensemble, I think producer Mike Valentine's, "minimalist with some spotlight mike enhancement" approach works really well...if harmonic structure is King and transparency Queen, then this recording rules." - analogplanet, Music 10/11, Sound 10/11 Read more!

Musicians:

Interpreti Veneziani Chamber Orchestra
Giacobbe Stevanato, violin
Nicola Granillo, violin
Sebastiano Maria Vianello, violin
Pietro Talamini, violin
Anania Maritan, violin
Sonia Amadio, viola
Davide Amadio, cello
Angelo Liziero, double bass
Paolo Cognolato, harpsichord

Track Listing:

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
The Four Seasons

Side A:
Spring
1. Allegro
2. Largo
3. Allegro
Summer
4. Allegro
5. Adagio
6. Presto

Side B:
Autumn
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Allegro
Winter
4. Allegro
5. Largo
6. Allegro