Ricordi, Milan, 2013

This most emblematic and historically significant of all Antonio Vivaldi’s published collections of instrumental music – the twelve concertos that truly “launched” him in the European musical word – are among the most difficult of his works to prepare for modern publication beacuse of the complex relationship between the lost manuscripts sent by the composer to Amsterdam and the engraved edition that came out in 1711. Close examination shows that in same cases the publisher, Estienne Roger, either misinterpreted Vivaldi’s text or chose to alter it, particularly through the addition of extra bass figures. This emerges most clearly from a comparison of early manuscript versions of two of the concertos (RV 567 and RV 578a) with their printed versions. For the first time the edition of the set includes, as appendices, both early versions. A detailed critical commentary is provided, and also many recommendations by the editor concerning interpretation and performance style. This is the first volume in a planned series of critical rditions comprising all the sonatas and concertos by Vivaldi published in his lifetime