CD: Joshua Bell with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Test your memory: Name every violinist you can think of who's made his or her own recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It's a long, healthy, and varied list: Sarah Chang, Fabio Biondi, Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Gil Shaham. There was even a four-for-one effort on Deutsche Grammophon, featuring Itzhak Perlman -- who has also recorded his own album of the famous concerti -- along with colleagues Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, and Isaac Stern.

Can you believe that Joshua Bell is only now joining this particular fellowship of fiddlers?

Yes, Joshua Bell, American violinist, proud owner of a fabled Stradivarius, sometime Metro busker, and newly minted forty-something, has just released his own version of the Four Seasons.

If you don't associate Joshua Bell with the baroque repertoire, that's precisely as it should be. You're no doubt used to his interpretations of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, or of American composers ranging from Gershwin to Corigliano. Perhaps you've got one of his crowd-pleasing compilation discs, or some of his crossover work with Edgar Meyer or Josh Groban. Maybe you are anticipating his Strathmore concert this coming winter, despite having absolutely no clue what the program will be. And all the arthouse movie fans reading this surely enjoy Bell's performances in film soundtracks (The Red Violin, Iris, Ladies in Lavender, and the upcoming Defiance).

That is not to say that this new all-baroque CD is somehow wrong-headed or ill-suited to a musician of Bell's talents, nor has he gone running off into the realm of period ensembles. This is an assertive recording, with Bell taking the conducting duties himself and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields doing yeoman's service.

We all know what a gorgeous tone Bell produces, what passion and energy he brings to his performances. Those qualities serve the material here well; the concerti remain appealing but also brisk and fresh. Listen for the movement when Bell chooses to take the tempo up a notch.

An added bonus on the disc is the Devil's Trill, from Tartini -- yes, more spark and fire from the baroque. It's all very much worth missing your train over.