There was a time when every other recording played on any self-respecting classical radio station was made by
Neville Marriner conducting the
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. There were two reasons for this: one,
Marriner and the
Academy made some of the best, the brightest, and the most beautiful recordings ever made, and two, classical disc jockeys just loved saying "That was
Neville Marriner conducting the
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields." Of all their hundreds of recordings, this 1969 recording of
Vivaldi's Four Seasons was perhaps the most played of all. It had everything anyone could want from a Four Seasons. It has thoroughly prepared and brilliantly executed performances by the
Academy, entirely elegant and astoundingly virtuosic performances by violin soloist
Alan Loveday, wonderfully stylish and irresistibly rhythmic continuo playing by harpsichordist and organist
Simon Preston, and marvelously imaginative and highly poetic conducting from
Marriner. Although this recording of the Four Seasons was followed by literally hundreds of other recordings featuring everything from thoroughly historically informed performances on period instruments to completely unhistorical performances on a quartet of guitars, hearing it again after 40 years re-affirms the preeminence of
Marriner and the
Academy's recording. Coupled here with their slightly later recordings of
Vivaldi's Bassoon Concerto, Piccolo Concerto and Concerto for 2 Oboes, this disc belongs on any short shelf of classical recordings, especially in Decca's bright, clean, and warm stereo sound.