University of Virginia Library

Pietro Toso

The printed program was
concluded with a performance of
one of Antonio Vivaldi's finest
works - The Concerto in B Flat for
scordatura violin, two groups of
strings and harpsichord. Pietro Toso
handled the difficult violin solo
very well, particularly in Vivaldi's
own startlingly Kreislerian cadenza
in the last movement. Mr. Scimone
finally availed himself of the
harpsichord on the stage, from
which he conducted, but his
continuo was not continuous and
was disappointingly unimaginative;
however, this failing did little to
mar a spirited and genial
performance of one of Vivaldi's
most splendid concerti.

I Solisti Veneti rewarded the
audience's enthusiasm with three
encores - two movements from
String Sonatas by Rossini and the
Fugue in D by "Gallario
Riccoleno" (an anagram of the
name of the composer, Arcangelo
Corelli), a fugue whose theme, in a
slightly different form, appears in
Handel's Hallelujah in Messiah.

Taken as a whole, the concert,
despite some disappointments, was
a delight, and I hope that the
Tuesday Evening Concert Series
will see fit to invite I Solisti Veneti
back to the University.