The group of concertos for bassoon by Antonio Vivaldi (Venice, 4 March 1678 – Vienna, 28 July 1741) is the largest such collection in terms of quantity after those for violin: no less than thirty-nine are in fact extant, and only two are incomplete. Beyond these details, “what is remarkable”, as Cesare Fertonani recently wrote, “is Vivaldi’s extraordinary understanding of the technical possibilities of the bassoon, reflected in his avant-garde treatment of the instrument which attains the complete and sumptuous dignity of a soloist, and his intuition probably unprecedented in the history of music of its expressive potential.”

Paolo Carlini is the soloist of this selection of the most important concerts dedicated to the instrument by Vivaldi, flanked by the famous “Virtuosi Italiani” orchestra, directed by Alberto Martini as a violin concert maestro.