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Artist: Avi Avital
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Avi Avital:

Concertos w/ Il Giardino Armonico - G. Antonini

“This is how I want to make music!” That was Avi Avital’s reaction when he first saw Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini play live in Jerusalem. Now famed worldwide for his own charismatic and passionate performances, the mandolinist is delighted to be joined by this exciting period-instrument ensemble and its conductor and co-founder on his latest album, entitled simply Concertos. Together they perform three original concertos for mandolin – by Barbella, Paisiello and Hummel – and Avital’s own adaptations of concertos by J.S. Bach and Vivaldi. Antonini is the recorder soloist in the Bach, while elaborate recording techniques allow Avital to play all four parts in the Vivaldi. Concertos is set for release by Deutsche Grammophon on 17 November. The Vivaldi concerto and the Andantino of the Barbella are available to stream or download now, while excerpts from the Paisiello and Hummel works will be released on 29 September and 27 October respectively.

Avi Avital was a young student at the Jerusalem Music Academy when he was, to use his own word, “dragged” by a Baroque enthusiast friend to an Il Giardino Armonico concert. “It was a truly formative experience,” he recalls. “Everything about them was different – they played Vivaldi with such physical energy and power of expression.” Now, on Concertos, the ensemble partners Avital in what he says is probably his favourite Vivaldi concerto: RV 580 in B minor, originally for four violins. 

The mandolinist had long cherished a “clear vision” of how he wanted to perform this work. Given recent technological advances, he and Antonini decided to experiment with multitrack recording to enable him to play all four parts in his adaptation of the concerto. Avital ended up using four different mandolins – and two mandolas – in this showstopping interpretation, enabling each voice to have a different colour and character. “I’m extremely proud of the result,” he says. “I feel we managed to create the feeling of a live performance in which the soloists are communicating with each other.” 

Avital’s second adaptation transforms J.S. Bach’s well-known Concerto for violin and oboe, BWV 1060R into a “lighter and brighter” version for mandolin and recorder. Rehearsing and recording the work, notes the artist, led to all the musicians involved reformulating the way they thought about the concerto. His fellow soloist here is none other than Giovanni Antonini – a virtuoso recorder player and flautist. Avital’s inclusion of this work is part of his “lifelong mission” to record as much of the composer’s music as possible, and extends his existing DG Bach discography.

Avi Avital:

Vivaldi - Concerto for 4 Mandolins

“This is how I want to make music!” That was Avi Avital’s reaction when he first saw Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini play live in Jerusalem. Now famed worldwide for his own charismatic and passionate performances, the mandolinist is delighted to be joined by this exciting period-instrument ensemble and its conductor and co-founder on his latest album, entitled simply Concertos. Together they perform three original concertos for mandolin – by Barbella, Paisiello and Hummel – and Avital’s own adaptations of concertos by J.S. Bach and Vivaldi. Antonini is the recorder soloist in the Bach, while the latest technology allows Avital to play all four parts in the Vivaldi. Concertos is set for release by Deutsche Grammophon on 17 November. The Vivaldi concerto and the Andantino of the Barbella are available to stream or download now, while excerpts from the Paisiello and Hummel works will be released on 29 September and 27 October respectively.

Avi Avital was a young student at the Jerusalem Music Academy when he was, to use his own word, “dragged” by a Baroque enthusiast friend to an Il Giardino Armonico concert. “It was a truly formative experience,” he recalls. “Everything about them was different – they played Vivaldi with such physical energy and power of expression.” Now, on Concertos, the ensemble partners Avital in what he says is probably his favourite Vivaldi concerto: RV 580 in B minor, originally for four violins. 
The mandolinist had long cherished a “clear vision” of how he wanted to perform this work. Given recent technological advances, he and Antonini decided to experiment with multitrack recording to enable him to play all four parts in his adaptation of the concerto. Avital ended up using four different mandolins – and two mandolas – in this showstopping interpretation, enabling each voice to have a different colour and character. “I’m extremely proud of the result,” he says. “I feel we managed to create the feeling of a live performance in which the soloists are communicating with each other.” 

Avi Avital:

Art of the Mandolin

Backed by years of study and critically acclaimed performances, Avi Avital's latest album for Deutsche Grammophon presents a survey of the finest works ever written for mandolin. The pioneering Israeli musician's first full recording of original compositions for his instrument reflects the quality and breadth of its classical repertoire. Art of the Mandolin, released today internationally, also charts the artistic journey of a performer whose inspired new commissions and arrangements of virtuoso works have introduced the solo mandolin to the world's leading concert halls.

Art of the Mandolin, on which Avital is joined by the Venice Baroque Orchestra, harpist Anneleen Lenaerts, guitarist Sean Shibe, harpsichordist Yizhar Karshon and theorbo player Ophira Zakai, includes a concerto by Vivaldi, a sonata by Domenico Scarlatti, Beethoven's exquisite yet little-known Adagio ma non troppo for mandolin and harpsichord (or harp), and more recent chamber and solo works by Paul Ben-Haim, Hans Werner Henze, Giovanni Sollima and David Bruce. The programme not only reveals the versatility of this instrument but allows glimpses of its fascinating history over the last three centuries. Avital has specifically chosen music by composers not known for their mandolin works: "I wanted to explore what the instrument meant, and means, in the wider world – to composers who are, as it were, coming to it from the outside rather than the inside." 

Avi Avital:

Between Worlds

Reflecting a blend of genres, Between Worlds is Grammy-nominated mandolin player Avi Avital's second album for Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Classics, slated for release on January 14, 2014.  Avital embraces both improvisational and traditional music with this new record, combining elements of classical and traditional folk resulting in a rich and adventurous musical journey. 

Avi Avital:

Vivaldi

The GRAMMY-nominated Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital has been praised as a both an "enthralling and sensitive soloist" (Boston Globe) and a "convincing advocate for his instrument" (Wall Street Journal).  As the first mandolinist signed to Deutsche Grammophon, he has brought the instrument to entirely new audiences, building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance and a commitment to commissioning new works and arrangements in a range of genres. Avital has now released - Vivaldi, his third album on DG that returns the instrument to its origins-the Venetian Baroque and master composer Antonio Vivaldi. On this CD Avital captures the mystical spirit of Venice, shedding new light on Vivaldi's musical genius by performing his own transcriptions of the composer's works. He is joined on the album by the Venice Baroque Orchestra on this, the ensemble's twelfth recording on Deutsche Grammophon. Avital and the VBO are also about to embark on a major North American tour this spring, stopping in Southern California, Miami, Boston and Carnegie Hall as well as Calgary and Montreal.

Avi Avital:

J.S. Bach

Deutsche Grammophon presents the extended, limited edition of Avi Avital's "spellbinding" (Newark Star-Ledger) DG debut, Bach. The album features several tracks of newly recorded Bach, all arranged by Avital for the mandolin, including the famous Prélude from Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007.