The musicians from the Laureate trio staged a virtuoso performance at a concert marking the launching of their new album on Monday.

Bulgarian violinist Vasko Vassilev, Ukrainian violist Max Rysinov and Italian guitarist Dario Rossetti-Bonnel offered a spectacular show to a crowd which gathered on the ground floor foyer of the Earth and Man Museum. Dressed in costumes made especially for the show by designer Zheni Zhivkova, the trio played pieces from their new album entitled Virtuoso Vivaldi.

The album consists of original remakes of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Laureate's version is based to a great extent on the Concerto Grosso format but the violin solos in the original piece have been expanded and adapted to the instruments of the trio.

"This is a new version of Vivaldi's Four Seasons," said the producer of the album, Pamela Nicholson. "Our version gives the opportunity not only for a violinist to have a solo part, but for all three musicians to perform as soloists."

In addition to being a producer, Nicholson also plays keyboard on the album. She is the mother of the world-famous violinist Vanessa Mae. Mae is a close friend of the trio and a student of Vassilev. She also took part in the first album of Laureate, entitled Total Immersion.

Laureate is the only ensemble in the world which consists only of holders of international music awards. Vassilev, who initiated the creation of the trio, is the first violinist of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. He lives and works in London.

The group's first album focused on modern versions of classical pieces and resembled the style of Mae's music. In their second album, however, they decided to keep as much as possible of the classical masterpiece Four Seasons. Vivaldi's concerts were one of the first recordings that Vassilev did while he was still living and playing in Bulgaria. "Vasko offered to come back to Bulgaria with music which is more reminiscent of his childhood days in Bulgaria," Nicholson said.

"Every time I play the Four Seasons, the feeling is different," Vassilev said before the concert. He explained they chose the Earth and Man Museum for their promotion for aesthetic reasons. "It is a very nice place and matches Vivaldi's music."

Nicholson added that both the place and the music had historical value. "Vivaldi is our classical music history and the museum which has gathered the history of mankind."

Five students from the National Academy of Music in Sofia accompanied Laureate's performance on Monday. The three musicians played around the minerals which are part of the permanent exhibition of the museum.

Their performance, however, had nothing to do with what people are accustomed to at classical music concerts. They kneeled, sat and walked around the hall and the public. They talked to the audience and explained in an informal way what they would perform next. The audience, for their part, awarded them with roars of applause and called them back for three encores.

The album Virtuoso Vivaldi is distributed by Virginia Records and can be bought in music stores around Bulgaria.