Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons (Sony BMG Audio CD)

Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, who has enchanted audiences for over two decades with his breathtaking playing and opulent tone, has recorded one of the most popular works in the history of classical music – Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

As an exclusive Sony Classical artist, Joshua Bell has released a series of albums to critical and popular acclaim. Known both for his riveting artistry and his daring choice of repertoire and collaborators, Bell is no less innovative in the way he reinvigorates Vivaldi’s perennial favourite.

Bell explains his take on Vivaldi’s classic: “You will never hear two versions of The Four Seasons that are alike, which is why I think there is always room for another view of the piece. My version is very personal.”

Widely considered one of the premiere violinists of his generation, Bell is joined on this
studio release by the celebrated musicians of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, who toured the work with him prior to the recording sessions.

This recording of The Four Seasons is coupled with another masterpiece of Baroque virtuosity, Giuseppe Tartini’s The Devil’s Trill Sonata.

To showcase the lavish artwork available for this release, a limited-edition package for the initial run of the CD will be available.

A softpak will house the CD, a 16-page booklet as well as four beautifully designed four-color cards featuring a sonnet for each season.

This softpak will be encased in an O-card which will hold a double-sided 12- panel fold-out 2009 calendar/poster.

Subsequent orders of this release will be a softpak containing
the CD, the booklet and the sonnet cards.