La Serenissima - News

Following our 2008 Gramophone Award nomination for The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concerto (Vol.2), La Serenissima's 2008 recording, The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concerto (Vol.3), has just been nominated for the 2009 Gramophone Awards.

2009 saw the recording and release of our eighth CD, Vivaldi – The French Connection, which features concertos for flute (Katy Bircher), bassoon (Peter Whelan) and violin (Adrian Chandler), as well as three of Vivaldi's magnificent 'Paris' concertos. This record will have a companion volume which is to be recorded in 2011.

Vivaldi – Gods, Emperors & Angels is to be our recording project for 2010 which will include concertos for recorder (Pamela Thorby), bassoon (Peter Whelan), violin (Adrian Chandler) and two violins (with additional soloist Sara Deborah Struntz); one of these, the concerto in B flat (RV 526) is a reconstruction by Adrian Chandler of one of the twelve concertos dedicated in manuscript to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in 1728; the other double concerto from this set can be found on Vivaldi in Arcadia.

The first performance of this new programme takes place in Valletta, Malta on September 29 and will be featured widely in our concert schedule in 2010. This will be the programme with which we make our debut at the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music in May 2010.

Other major news from La Serenissima is that we have recently signed with Rayfield Artists, a young and dynamic agency. As a result of this collaboration we hope to increase our concert profile—both in the UK and abroad— thereby lifting record sales and income, so that we can find the funds to support such projects as Per Monsieur Pisendel 2.

Links: Rayfield Artists

 

About La Serenissima

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

Since the first CD release in 2003, La Serenissima has been universally applauded by publications such as Gramophone Magazine, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Independent, The Strad, La Stampa, Gaudisc and the London Evening Standard for its performances and recordings on the AVIE label. They have made eight recordings to date and received their first Gramophone Award nominationin 2008 with their second Gramophone Award nomination following in 2009

Whilst works like The Four Seasons form an important part of La Serenissima’s repertoire, La Serenissima pride themselves on bringing works seldom heard to the concert platform, including Vivaldi’s Ottone in Villa (RV 729), Giustino (RV 724), Tito Manlio (RV 717), La Fida Ninfa (RV 714) Tremori al braccio (RV 799), the violin sonata (RV 798), the Concerto fatto per la Solennità della S. Lingua di S. Antonio in Padova, 1712 (RV 212), the two double violin concerti from his manuscript set ‘La Cetra’ (RV 520 & 526) and arias from La costanza trionfante degl’amori e de gl’odii (RV 706). Rarities by other composers include Albinoni’s Il Nascimento dell’Aurora, and Caldara’s Cantata per la Notte del Santissimo Natale.

La Serenissima has appeared at many of the UK’s leading festivals and venues including South Bank Early Music Festival, Chelsea, Chester, Spitalfields, Warwick, Lichfield and the Beverley Early Music Festivals, York Early Music Festival, Cambridge Summer Music, St George’s Bristol, Snape Maltings and London’s Cadogan and Queen Elizabeth Halls. They have also appeared in Italy, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico and Spain to great acclaim.

Nearly the entire repertoire of La Serenissima is edited by director Adrian Chandler from manuscript sources, a testament to their commitment and passion for rare and exciting Italian music and a feat which makes them unique amongst other baroque ensembles.

 

Commendations for La Serenissima's recordings:

Music for the Chapel of the Pietà (AV2063)

  • Classic FM magazine top 12 records of the year
  • Music Web International record of the month

The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concerto (vol.1)

  • Gramophone Editors Choice

The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concerto (vol.2)

  • Gramophone Award Nomination
  • Classic FM magazine orchestral record of the month
  • Music Web International record of the month

The Rise of the North Italian Violin Concerto (vol.3)

  • Music Web International record of the month
  • Classic FM record of the week
  • Gramophone Award Nomination