256. Taking it Slow

The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Works by Vivaldi and Beethoven performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra and Musicians from Marlboro on September 11, 2004 and October 19, 2014.

• Vivaldi, Antonio: Concerto in C Major for Soprano Recorder and Orchestra
• Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29

The two pieces on this podcast have many points of difference: different eras (Baroque and Classical), different instrumentation (a recorder concerto and a string quintet), and different performers. The list goes on. But as different as they are, both works share a wonderful commonality at their core: a gorgeous slow movement.

The first slow movement we’ll hear comes right in the middle of Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major for sopranino recorder and orchestra, played by Aldo Abreu and the Gardner Chamber Orchestra. When the piece begins, the recorder enters on a dazzling, virtuosic note, but it is the middle movement where he truly gets to stretch out and show not just his technical prowess, but his musicality.

After the Vivaldi, we’ll hear Beethoven’s String Quintet in C Major, Opus 29, played by Musicians from Marlboro. Like Vivaldi, Beethoven’s slow movement comes second, after a cheery opening allegro. This slow movement has a lovely, Mozartean quality, tending to the “sweeter” side of “bittersweet.”