St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Wilmington, NC 12/2/12
Chamber Music Wilmington continued its season at St. Paul’s church, with a concert devoted entirely to music of Antonio Vivaldi. It was an evening of high-quality music making by The Vivaldi Project, whose members are much in demand in the early-music world and in fact perform a good deal of music besides Vivaldi. . . Every member of this fine chamber-sized ensemble seemed to play with passion. Performing on original instruments contributes substantial beauties and the players are clearly masters of this challenging art. It might be added that the informative and relatively extensive program notes were, like the playing itself, in a passionate style which effectively advocated for the variety and excitement of the music . . . the energy and expression of the performances brought forth a great deal. The audience in the nearly-filled church, attentive throughout, responded with heartfelt appreciation. Read Full Review
Barry Salwen, The Classical Voice of North Carolina, 12/2/12
"For the past six years or so, The Vivaldi Project has been on a mission: to explore not only the music of the early baroque period, but also the astonishingly rich musical language, with its own precise grammar of expression, that underlies that music. The intriguing idea has made the ensemble’s concerts, as it showed Sunday at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, into events that forge intriguing ties among composers of the time. . . featuring superb playing by Field with the gifted violinist Allison Edberg, ensemble co-founder Stephanie Vial on cello, Joseph Gascho at the harpsichord and William Simms on theorbo. . . The most unusual work was the Sonata in C Minor, “Sanguineus und Melancholicus” by C.P.E. Bach, a musical debate between an optimist and a pessimist. Field and Edberg acted out the opposing roles with great charm, and the conversation ended with harmony, hugs and a consensus that the glass is, in fact, half-full."
Stephen Brookes, The Washington Post 6/11/12
"Vivaldi Project transports listener to Venice in its glory . . .Covering music of the 17th and 18th centuries, the program Sunday featured works shimmering with the colorful luminescence that Canaletto lent his brilliant panoramas of Venice. The group advances early-music performance practice by its finely drawn characterizations of each piece." Read full review
Cecilia H. Porter, The Washington Post, 2/22/11
"The string playing of The Vivaldi Project musicians was simply breathtaking! Most impressive was their precise articulation at the fastest speeds . . . Each string section played exactly together as one player no matter how abrupt the change in dynamics or tempo. This group cannot be booked to return to our concert venues too soon." Read full review
William Thomas Walker, The Classical Voice of North Carolina, 9/15/10
