CD Feature/ Dorothee Oberlinger: "Concerti per Flauto & Flautino"

There are so many different ways to play Vivaldi. And I’m not talking about “The four Seasons for Electric Guitar and Synthesizer” or “Vivaldi – the Techno Remixes”. The smallest alteration in accompaniment or tempo can make the most significant difference and turn a great piece into a mediocre one. So, with all the freedom they allow for, there’s just one thing you can never do: Expect the compositions to do the work for you.

Conrad Steinmann knew this, when recording “Giorno e Notte”, a collection of Concerti for flute, making it my personal favourite Classical CD of 2004. And, to be sure, Dorothee Oberlinger knows it as well. Her vision differs from Steinmann’s in many ways: First of all, the higher tuning of the instruments indeed makes for “clearer and more brilliant” strings (as she explains herself in the informative booklet) and the less spacious sound give the music less of a “sanctified” note and more of a chamber-music ambiance. By ommitting the double bass, her approach might not be that powerful, but it compensates for that with a wonderous airiness that makes you want to put your legs up and dream away. This music is truly uplifting, soothing and refreshing and yet preserves a lot of Vivaldi’s natural spirituality. What’s most suprising, however, is the probably unintentional fact that the album has become quite a soloists’ work. The excellent “Sonatori de la Gioiosa” play concise and with rich dynamics and yet their effort is principally aimed at laying a solid foundation for the astoundingly inventive melodies. Oberlinger, in turn, choses for modesty, when she decides not to startle the listener with mere virtuosity, but win him over with moving directness and humanity.

“Concerti per Flauto & Flautino” has become a multi-facetted disc: Emotive, deep and yet care-free. It’s an album that you should give a listen, regardless of how many Vivaldi-CDs you might already own. That’s because, no matter how often this music has already been recorded, there alre always new and fascinating ways to play it. And Dorothee Oberlinger never takes things for granted.

Homepage: Dorothee Oberlinger