The Four Seasons

It is, as Jane Austen might say, "a truth universally acknowledged" that chamber music and visual media do not good bedfellows make--especially since the former is often performed by relatively sedate, often seated instrumentalists. Eighteenth century composer Antonio Vivaldi's four concerti cycle The Four Seasons is no exception (Alan Alda's fine 1981 film of the same name notwithstanding), but this BBC production filmed in 2002 at the National Botanic Garden of Wales offers more than the standard point and shoot recording. Astute observers will note that the 105-minute running time is a bit long for Vivaldi's famous suite, which traditionally clocks in at about 40 minutes--the reason being that the concert is available in two different versions on the disc: the performance only cut, and the "director's cut," which intercuts beautiful footage of flora and fauna on the garden grounds, capturing the seasonal changes over the course of a year. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.0 or 2.0, the work of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields players is characteristically excellent, providing solid support for German violin soloist sensation Julia Fischer, who bows up a storm on the allegro during "Summer." Extras include a 13-minute interview with Fischer and a 10-minute featurette with UK folks sharing comments on their favorite seasons. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)