These concertos all date from the latter part of Vivaldi’s career and include several really fine works: RV281, with its extraordinary opening, pitting pianissimo upper strings against molto forte in the bass; RV283, with echoes of Autumn from The Four Seasons; and RV243, in which the soloist eschews his E string throughout, resulting in the higher passages on the A string sounding especially mellow and expressive. Giuliano Carmignola is a wonderfully accomplished player: with minimal use of vibrato, he phrases the melodic passages (for instance in the Largo of RV283) in an irresistibly expressive manner and performs the more challenging passagework with breathtaking precision and purity. Some of his staccato bowings suggest Sarasate rather than Vivaldi but this doesn’t detract from an outstanding solo performance.

The orchestral playing is certainly vivid, belonging to the school of Vivaldi performance that stresses fierce accents, ultra-short staccato and extreme dynamic contrasts, with little in the way of subtle shading. In the 18th century, Italian string players were noted for the vehemence of their performance, and extremes of volume and tempo and spectacular staccato bow strokes were undoubtedly part of their repertoire. However, I’d still question the way the Accademia Bizantina interpret the style – the crude thumps at the start of each bar, occurring in many forte passages, quickly become wearing to the ear, and I long to hear their vigour tempered with a measure of sensitivity. But with such lovely solo playing and such inventive music, this remains a firm recommendation.