Vivaldi's best know work, The Four Seasons is given new life in this audiophile Direct to Disc recording from Chasing the Dragon. In order to make this D2D recording, the Interpreti Veneziani Chamber Orchestra performed each album side live in the studio, recorded via state of the art, all-tube valve microphones, fed to a Neve Desk, and then via a pure analogue path directly to the Neumann VMS80 lathe. 

The brilliantly captured session was carefully engineered, and mixed live, no overdubs. During the performance, the Neumann VMS 80 Cutting head engages the master lacquer ("stamper" used for pressing LPs) and is not stopped until the entire side is complete. This results in a more accurate recording, a greater immediacy and interaction among the players, and less background noise through the elimination of master tapes, overdubs, etc. by directly cutting the recording to vinyl. All in all, this is a dynamic album that needs to be heard! 

"In creating this direct cut album, we had to overcome many challenges. Because the album had to be recorded 'live' I had to first find a piece of music which would the perfect length. Obviously, I found the answer in Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Next came the musicians and I was so lucky to have the opportunity of bringing over from Venice, the leading Venetian chamber orchestra, Interpreti Veneziani. Finally, I had to find a recording studio which not only had a superb space, it also had to have an engineer versed in the black art of cutting live vinyl. Well, have we succeeded? Please judge for yourself, for I hope you have as much fun in listening as we had in cutting this disc!" - Mike Valentine, producer/engineer 

"The playing is extremely vigorous in places, which adds to the dynamics and drama, and credit should be given to the nine musicians in Interpreti Veneziani and the many period instruments they play...It's the combination of the original sound, coupled with the shortness and purity of the signal chain, which make this such an astonishing record...a lot more robust that most I've heard." -Hi-Fi+ Magazine 

"Producer Mike Valentine used all-tube microphones, and the sound is as you might expect...String tones were rich and fully expressed, yet the somewhat distantly placed harpsichord had appropriate transient zip and definition." - Michael Fremer, Stereophile Magazine 

Interpreti Veneziani Chamber Orchestra

Giacobbe Stevanato, violin

Nicola Granillo, violin

Sebastiano Maria Vianello, violin

Pietro Talamini, violin

Anania Maritan, violin

Sonia Amadio, viola

Davide Amadio, cello

Angelo Liziero, double bass

Paolo Cognolato, harpsichord

• 180g vinyl 

• Produced/engineered by Mike Valentine

• Directly cut to vinyl

• Pressed at Record Industry

• Gefell/AKG/Flea Valve Microphones, AIR Custom Neve Recording Desk, Neumann VMS 80 Cutting Lathe

• Gatefold jacket

1.  Spring - Allegro

2.  Spring - Largo

3.  Spring - Allegro

4.  Summer - Allegro

5.  Summer - Adagio

6.  Summer - Presto

7.  Autumn - Allegro

8.  Autumn - Adagio

9.  Autumn - Allegro

10. Winter - Allegro 

11. Winter - Largo

12. Winter - Allegro