Written in Mantua in the late 1710s, these three wonderful concerti come from the great 'Il cimento dell' armonia e dell'inventione' ('The Contest between Harmony and Invention'), the famous set of concerti from which the well-known 'The Four Seasons' also came. Here Vivaldi addressed the battle between structured form and harmony, and the opposing forces of creative invention. And he succeeded admirably in combining a traditional fast-slow-fast format with tremendous invention, both in technique and in overall presentation. It was 'program' music in an era which was extremely unaccustomed to such an idea. These are inspired and classic works, standing more than comfortably with The Four Seasons as great classics of the Italian Baroque - and of all time. Includes an authoritative, newly engraved solo part printed on high-quality ivory paper; a digital stereo compact disc featuring a complete performance of the concerto with orchestra and soloist, and a second performance minus you, the soloist; and a second compact disc containing a full-speed version of the complete version as well as a special -20% slow-tempo version of the accompaniment for practice purposes. The concerti are extensively indexed for your practice and performance convenience. Performed by Mario Hossen, violin Accompaniment: Plovdiv Chamber Orchestra Conductor: Nayden Todorov