News...

2006 has been a remarkable year for La Serenissima. 2006 saw the release of La Serenissima's fourth record for Avie Records and the first of three exploring the development of the North Italian Violin Concerto as part of Adrian Chandler's AHRC fellowship at the University of Southampton. Although still early days, the record has already been chosen as Editor's Choice for Gramophone Magazine, November 2006.

This year also saw the first recording for Linn Records. L'Amore per Elvira was released in September and features Vivaldi cantatas and sonatas (including some new reconstructions). This new venture with Linn is expected to continue next year with a recording of Benedetto Vinaccesi's motets and trio sonatas by Vivaldi, Ruggieri, Caldara and Gentili.

2006 has has also been our busiest on the concert platform with twenty concerts in venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall, St George's Bristol, Bridgewater Hall and Sala Simfonica in Barcelona. 2007 sees more concerts of The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concert I (NIVC I) as well as further concerts of the Elvira programme. We shall also be recording and touring NIVC II, which is an all Vivaldi programme and includes some very exciting concertos and arias from both his early and late periods.

 

About...


La Serenissima was formed in 1994 for a performance of Antonio Vivaldi's serenata La Senna festeggiante (RV 693) and ten years later, has firmly established itself as one of the leading exponents of the music of Antonio Vivaldi and his Italian contemporaries.

Since the release of its first CD in 2003, La Serenissima has been universally applauded by publications such as Gramophone Magazine, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason d'Or, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Independent, The Strad and the Evening Standard for its performances and recordings on the AVIE label.

Whilst works like the Antonio Vivaldi's concerto The Four Seasons form an important part of La Serenissima's repertoire, (one performance being described by The Independent as 'bouncily eager to entertain, astonish and delight,') La Serenissima pride themselves on bringing works seldom if ever heard to the concert platform. These include Vivaldi's Ottone in Villa (RV 729), Giustino (RV 724), Tito Manlio (RV 717), Tremori al braccio (RV 799), the violin sonata (RV 798) and reconstructions of the Concerto fatto per la Solennità della S. Lingua di S. Antonio in Padova, 1712 (RV 212) and the two double violin concerti from his manuscript set 'La Cetra' (RV 520 & 526). Works by other composers include Albinoni's Il Nascimento dell'Aurora, and extracts from one of Antonio Caldara's huge Christmas cantatas.

La Serenissima has appeared at many of the UK's leading festivals including South Bank Early Music Festival, Spitalfields, Warwick, Lichfield and the Beverley Early Music Festivals, York Early Music Festival, Cambridge Summer Music, St George's Bristol and Snape Maltings. They have also appeared in Italy, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and most recently Mexico, performing in Mexico City and the Festival Cervantino (Leon and Guanajuato) to great acclaim. They have also performed for BBC Radio 3 on numerous occasions.

La Serenissima Patrons: Dr Neil Mackie CBE CStJ FRSAMD, Catherine Mackintosh FRCM, The Viscount Norwich, Philip J Pickett FGSM, Professor Reinhard Strohm FBA, Cavaliere Professor Michael Talbot