Loveday, Marriner, Academy of St. Martin-In-The-Fields – Vivaldi: the Four Seasons

Alan Loveday, Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields' Vivaldi: The Four Seasons returns to vinyl from their celebrated 1969 recording, a performance that became one of the defining titles in the ensemble's catalogue. Recorded at St John's, Smith Square with Simon Preston on continuo, it belongs to the period when Marriner and the Academy helped shape how many listeners encountered Baroque music on record.

What still makes this reading compelling is its combination of clarity and warmth. Loveday's solo playing is consistently lyrical without losing its bite, while Marriner keeps the ensemble light on its feet, giving Spring, Summer and Winter vivid contrast without overstatement. The result is elegant rather than showy, but never polite to the point of caution.

This edition is part of Decca's Pure Analogue Series, drawing on the original 1/4-inch two-track stereo tapes for an all-analogue reissue. For anyone who knows the piece mainly from modern period-instrument versions, this recording offers a different kind of authority: polished, direct and rhythmically alive, with the Academy's famously clean string sound very much intact.

Features

• 1xLP, 180g, Decca Pure Analogue Series, Hand-Numbered Limited Edition
• Mastered by Rainer Maillard and cut by Sidney C. Meyer from the original 1/4-inch, 2-track stereo tapes
• All-analogue production
• Pressed at Pallas
• Gatefold sleeve