RODOLPHE KREUTZER
Kreutzer: Violin Concertos Nos. 17, 18 & 19 Axel Strauss (violin) / San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra / Andrew Mogrelia [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] "If you love the violin, or have enjoyed the string concertos of Mozart, Haydn, Viotti, or Pierre Rode, you will find yourself, like me, eagerly awaiting the rest of this promising series." Bargain of the Month MusicWeb Dec 2010 |
ESTEBAN BENZECRY
Benzecry: Ciclo de canciones / Violin Concerto / Clarinet Concerto Ayako Tanaka (Soprano) Xavier Inchausti (Violin) Mariano Rey (Clarinet) / Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Pablo Boggiano [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jul/2020 ] French-Argentinian composer Esteban Benzecry has built up a distinctive body of work, from symphonies to works for solo piano. He stands as a worthy successor to such masters as Ginastera, Villa-Lobos and Chávez, with music that is suffused with... |
SHOSTAKOVICH
Violin Concerto No. 1 (with Janacek-Violin Concerto) Baiba Skride (violin) / Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra / Munich Philharmonic Orchestra / Marek Janowski / Mikko Franck [ Sony Classical / CD - released 28/Oct/2007 ] "A natural musicaon to the ends of her fingertips." Classic FM Magazine |
W.A. MOZART
Violin Concerto No 3 in G major, K. 216 / Rondo in C major, K. 373 (with Johann Michael Haydn-Violin Concerto) Baiba Skride (violin) / Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra / Hartmut Haenchen [ Sony Classical / CD - released 28/Oct/2007 ] "I'm a spontanteous person and if you've got to do the same thing ten times in a row and keep your concentration while you're at it..." (Baiba Skride) |
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI
Szymanowski: Violin Concertos 1 and 2 / Myths Op. 30 Baiba Skride (violin) / Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko, with Lauma Skride (piano) [ Orfeo / CD - released 10/Feb/2015 ] BBC Music Award Nomination 2015 - Concerto |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Violin Concerto / 2 Serenades (with Nielsen - Violin Concerto) Baiba Skride (violin) / Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali [ Orfeo / 2 CD - released 20/Aug/2015 ] "Baiba Skride's playing here, and in the Nielsen Concerto, is characterised by a tone that is inherently and unfailingly beautiful … this is exceptional playing and music-making." The Strad |
PETER RACINE FRICKER / DAVID MORGAN / DON BANKS
Violin Concertos Yfrah Neaman (violin) Erich Gruenberg (violin) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Norman Del Mar / Vernon Handley [ Lyrita / CD - released 20/Mar/2008 ] New recording |
MENDELSSOHN
The Mendelssohn Experience (Includes 'Hear My Prayer', Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 & A Midsummer Night's Dream) Barbara Bonney, Beaux Arts Trio, Maxim Vengerov, Cyprien Katsaris, Eder Quartet, English Chamber Orchestra, etc [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2009 ] Far from the troubled, coarse libertine that has become an archetype of the Romantic composer, Felix Mendelssohn was something of an anomaly among his contemporaries. |
SIR ARNOLD BAX
Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 3 In C BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult (conductor) / Halle Orchestra, John Barbirolli (conductor) [ Dutton / CD - released 23/Jul/2001 ] |
STOJOWSKI / WIENIAWSKI
Stojowski / Wieniawski: Violin Concertos Bartłomiej Nizioł (violin), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Łukasz Borowicz (conductor) [ Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto Vol 20 / CD - released 29/Jul/2016 ] The music of Zygmunt Stojowski has yet to benefit from the renaissance enjoyed by other Polish composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His violin concerto - enthusiastically received at its premiere - is here revivified... |
ERIK CHISHOLM
Chisholm: Violin Concerto & Dance Suite BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Sep/2017 ] A bracing excursion to the Indian subcontinent via the Scottish Highlands: the compelling force of Scottish Modernism that is Erik Chisholm makes a welcome reappearance on Hyperion. Matthew Trusler and Danny Driver are the committed soloists in... |
WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
Orchestral Works 4 [Incls 'Symphony No. 1'] BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner, Michael Collins (clarinet), Tasmin Little (violin) [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2013 ] "Gardner's interpretative decisions vary from Lutoslawski's, swifter in the fast movements, very slow in the Poco adagio...The composer had the balance between them just right but Gardner is very persuasive...Highly recommended." Editor's Choice Gram |
RCAHMANINOV / DVORAK / MOZART / BIZET / ORFF / etc
Voice Of The Violin Joshua Bell (violin) / Orchestra of St. Luke's, Michael Stern [ Sony Classical / CD - released 18/Sep/2006 ] "The playing is unfailingly exquisite; the arrangements are generally sensitive - Mozart's Laudate Dominum being notably effective." Gramophone |
MAX REGER
Reger: Violin Concerto / Chaconne Benjamin Schmid (violin) / Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine / CD - released 1/Dec/2012 ] "Schmid's playing is technically pristine, if cool, while the Tampere Philharmonic under Hannu Lintu opt for clarity rather than depth. The underlying idea, presumably, is to emphasise the classical sinews beneath the post-Romantic surface." (Guardia |
FREDERICK DELIUS
Delius: Violin Concerto / Piano Concerto / Eventyr / A Song Before Sunrise Betty Beecham (Piano) / Jean Pougnet (Violin) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Historical Great Conductors / CD - released 4/Dec/2006 ] Sir Thomas Beecham's almost single-handed promotion of the music of Delius to international acceptance through his own personal standing and his conducting genius, besides being among the singular feats of the twentieth century, remains unrivalled in... |
Idil Biret (piano), Irina Nikotina (violin, Massenet Concerto) Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Alain Pâris
Massenet and Franck - Music for Piano and Orchestra [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 27/Nov/2006 ] French music of the late 19th and early 20th century abounds in fine symphonies and concertos that are rarely explored. During the symphonic revival initiated by Camille Saint-Saëns and César Franck, several famous virtuosos encouraged composers to... |
BOHUSLAV MARTINU
The Complete Music for Violin and Orchestra (Vol 1) Bohuslav Matousek (violin) / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra / Christopher Hogwood [ Hyperion / CD - released 31/Oct/2007 ] '[Duo concertante] Written in Martinu's best 1930s concerto grosso style, its three movements are limpidly scored, allowing the flowing, interweaving lines of the soloists to sound to best advantage; as the excellent booklet-notes say, "an... |
BOHUSLAV MARTINU
The Complete Music for Violin and Orchestra Vol 2 Bohuslav Matousek (violin) / Czech Philharmonic Orchestra / Christopher Hogwood [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Feb/2008 ] 'This disc is superb in every aspect from performance to recording quality, and will really force the listener to re-evaluate Martinu's place among composers. Very highly recommended' (Audiophile Audition, USA) |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2 / Love for Three Oranges: Suite Boris Belkin (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill Kondarshin. Rudolf Barshai [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Sep/2005 ] Now, ABC release, for the first time on CD, Belkin's sizzling accounts of the two Prokofiev Concertos. |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: The Symphonies, Violin Concerto & Tone Poems Salvatore Accardo (violin) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ Decca / 5 CD Box Set - released 9/Apr/2012 ] "Naturalness and cogency also characterize this performance of the Seventh. The BSO strings render the opening pages with extraordinary tonal purity, and the sunny pastoral as the symphony's center sings with unaffected charm." 10/10 ClassicsToday |