News

Vivaldi Piccolo Concertos (Francesco Guggiola)

Modern-instrument Vivaldi recordings are comparatively rare these days, but that's what we have here in this studio recording (BartokStudio, Bernareggio) from Teatro alla Scala principal piccolo Francesco Guggiola with the Ensemble dell'Orchestra Farnesiana - a one-to-a-part sextet of La Scala orchestra members and guests.
Written probably at some point around the late 1720s or early 1730s, Vivaldis three RV443-445 piccolo concertos were in fact originally conceived for flautino, ie high-pitched recorders and transverse flutes. Guggiola has complemented these three works, which
now sit as piccolo repertoire cornerstones, with two further flute concertos, RV428 in D major, Il gardellino, and RV439 in G minor, La notte.As you might expect from an artist with Guggiola's professional credentials, it's all very elegant and polished on his part. […] Guggiola showcases what his modern piccolo has to offer in the way of brightness and smooth agility, and also in dynamic range, with his piano playing one of the recording's pleasures. […] Essentially, there's some superb technique and some very tasteful individual playing here […]

Charlotte Gardner, Gramophone, March 2026    Orchestral review

VIVALDI PICCOLLO CONCERTOS
Francesco Guggiola (piccolo) - Ensemble dell’Orchestra Farnesina

While he may not have been a flautist himself, Vivaldi's prolific flute writing helped disseminate the instrument across Italy and Europe in the late Baroque period. His three flautino concertos are, however, unique in Baroque flute repertoire. There is some speculation as to the intended instrument - Vivaldi is thought to have intended a sopranino recorder or piccolo transverse flute. We hearthem here on piccolo, accompanied by strings and continuo. Virtuosic in nature, the fast movements are packed with passagework, which soloist Francesco Guggiola delivers with fine articulation. Vivaldi allows barely any space for breath in the C major Concerto, but Guggiola takes on this challenge with aplomb, delivering a consistent tone. Earlier in the programme, the movement across all parts feels
slightly less buoyant, though the album gathers momentum and a brilliance of sound as it proceeds. The long cadenza in the first movement of Vivaldis D Major Concerto - usually heard on the flute - benefits from its piccolo treatment, sounding more like the goldfinch ('il gardellino') it seeks to emulate. Matching the light of the D major with the shade of the G minor Concerto, Guggiola brings out the uneasy, sleepy character of this next work, the Ensemble dell Orchestra Farnesiana providing a supportive base. Even in the piccolo's lower range, the engineers have been at pains to create a fairly even balance between soloist and accompaniment.

Taranrah