Closing editorial gaps

Antonio Vivaldi's nine sonatas for cello and basso continuo are now available in several Urtext editions and are very popular among cellists. The situation is different with his 27 surviving cello concertos, which represent a pioneering work by the "Prete rosso" in terms of music history. Numerous commercially available editions still do not meet the demands that have been placed on the musical text since the advent of historically informed performance practice.

The initiative of Edition Walhall in Magdeburg deserves special mention here. In their series Il Violoncello Concertato she presents eight of Vivaldi's most important cello concertos (including the famous double concerto in G minor) in a critical edition. The editions - six of which are already available - can be described as exemplary and are suitable for both concert and teaching use. A detailed preface and a critical report provide interesting information on each work. For practical performance reasons, editor Markus Möllenbeck has dispensed with fingerings and bowings. The combined solo/continuo parts are a big plus. They can be used practically in lessons or, thanks to the continuous figuring, can be used in concert by basso continuo players.

It is to be hoped that this series will be continued.

Antonio Vivaldi, 8 concertos for violoncello (score, set of parts, piano reduction with combined solo/continuo part), edited by Markus Möllenbeck, Edition Walhall, Magdeburg