Vivaldi, played badly, is the worst classical music on earth

I find it remarkable how much my enjoyment of "classical" music depends on the performance. Many times, I’ve listened to a new performance of a work I was indifferent to, and the work suddenly clicked. Whether it’s Vivaldi or Shostakovich, the performance makes a huge difference.

Remember listening to WFMT in Chicago one afternoon, to music I'd never heard, and thinking "Damn! That's a GREAT conductor!" Turned out to be Sir George Solti. 

Like most classical guys, I'm thoroughly sick of Vivaldi's Four Seasons.  But I gotta say that one of my favorite slabs of vinyl is the DG Archiv release Concerti da Camera, Vivaldi chamber music performed by Musica Antiqua Koln.  Great tunes.  An unmistakable sense of fun.  18th Century upper class Italian party music.  Solid if not surpassing fidelity.  It actually prompted me to see Musica Antiqua Koln when they came to L.A. in the 1980's.  It was one of those concerts where you can meet & greet the band at a reception after the performance. Shook the hand of violinist bandleader Reinhard Goebel.

A minor point, but I don’t see anything wrong with Erik’s use of the word "classical" in the subject line of his initial post. He referred to "classical music," not to the "Classical period" of classical music. I doubt that anyone would reasonably deny that Vivaldi, J. S. Bach, Handel, Telemann, et al., composed classical music.

Also, my understanding is that the Classical period immediately followed the Baroque period, rather than being two time periods later.

Good point by JL35, about differing preferences for Baroque performances on period vs. modern instruments. I recall that what I believe was one of the earliest recordings of "The Four Seasons" on period instruments, ca. late 1970s, was particularly controversial. That being a performance by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus Wien. Some loved it, many hated it, my reaction was somewhere in between. In any event it was certainly different.

Best regards,
-- Al