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Here's everybody's favourite telephone hold music ( yeah, right ! ) Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. They are part of this disk titled The World of Vivaldi and with a title like that you might be able to guess that it was another of my early purchases. The performance style is somewhat dated too with most of the tracks being recorded in the 1970s. It is a pity about the way in which the Four Seasons have been abused for so many commercial purposes, especially since the composer is in no position to benefit at all from it ! Familiarity can breed contempt but they are popular for a reason, being delightfully accessible with memorable tunes and if listened to dispassionately they seem to have a distinctiveness that some of Vivaldi's other numerous concertos lack. They are given a middle of the road performance on this disk by the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester under Karl Munchinger with Konstanty Kulka on violin and Igor Kipnis on harpsichord. The disk also features the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields led by Neville Marriner in the Concerto for Piccolo RV443 ( William Bennett on piccolo ) and the Concerto for Two Trumpets RV537 ( John Wilbraham and Philip Jones soloists ). The familar Concerto for Guitar RV93 is played by Eduardo Fernandez with the English Chamber Orchestra and George Malcolm and the disk is rounded off by the Concerto RV151 "alla rustica" performed by the Lucerne Festival Strings under Rudolf Baumgartner. To be honest, the kind of disk you might put on for undemanding background music while preparing a meal in the kitchen.