Thursday music spot.

I originally posted this comparison two years ago and was disappointed to notice today that both the performances I linked to at that time have since been removed from YouTube.

So here it is again with two links to some of the (many) performances which work today.

In 1711 Antonia Vivaldi published an excellent concerto for four Violins and supporting instruments. I believe that like most of his music it was popular for a time, almost forgotten for many years, and then revived in popularity in the 20th century.

(Yehudi Menuin and Nigel Kennedy had, I think, rather a lot to do with the revival in popularity of Vivaldi, and I used to own an audio cassette, in the days of that now largely vanished technology, with a great performance of this piece led by Y.H.) 

Here is a more recent performance ...



Johann Sebastian Bach liked this piece so much that, some two decades after it was first published  he transcribed it for four harpsichords. Here is a modern performance of his version:



Which do you prefer?

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