This has to be one of my favourite violin concerto discs - stuffed full of beautiful but highly contrasted music, presented with great panache and sensitivity from a young violinist, orchestra & conductor in wonderfully well balanced MCH sound.

Right from the opening, Kriezburg and the RNO (a fabulous ensemble since inception) provide a vivid and colourful introduction to allow Julia Fischer to come and dance away with the main theme. Throughout the accompaniment is alert to the need to allow the solo lines to come through the orchestral textures. The tempo taken is not driven but always has a sense of forward movement. In the slow movement, the more meditative side of Khachaturian's music is given free and imaginative rein by JF. The concluding Allegro vivace is just that! The playing bursts in and gleefully skips along which makes for a quite invigorating experience - I had to restrain my hand from pressing "repeat" on the remote control such is the pleasure that I experienced (I gave in after listening to the whole disc though!)

The Prokofiev is a harder piece to pull off successfully, the heart is not worn on the sleeve like Khachaturian or Glazunov do but when it is successful it is one of Prokofiev's most enchanting pieces which hides some darker emotions. In the opening the solo line floats above the shimmering tutti strings and soars with the woodwind. Some violinists cannot vary their tone sufficiently and so appear to be strident, "weak" or bland. Fischer does not suffer from this and treats us to a lovely display ranging from tender to dazzling to strong. Just as the music creeps in from barely being concious, it retreats in a most delightful manner here with all contributions perfectly balanced against one another. The Scherzo then is played with such energy that it almost eclipses the vigour of the Khachaturian. The almost balletic and songful closing movement that moves ever closer to tranquillity is given the same care and attention that was lavished on the closing of the first movement and delightfully disappears into the ether that it emerged from some 20 minutes earlier.

The Glazunov is a very "sweet" experience and as such the performers need to treat it with lightness that we don't reach for more substantial fare. The opening section of this piece is thrown off without a care in the world and we soon find ourselves in the more meditative Andante. Here Fischer phrases without a hint of self-conciousness that others seem to wallow in and it is a very refreshing experience indeed not to have ones ears laden with sentimentality. The cadenza builds up a real head of steam which powers the concluding Allegro to the dazzling conclusion the Glazunov had surely imagined as pen was put to paper. Throughout, Kreizburg and the RNO appear to be of identical mind as Fischer and the RNO leaves me in no doubt of their stunning but selfless virtuosity.

The recording itself is extremely good with a great deal of detail coming across with real presence in this very vivid music. The balance places us in my favourite position in the stalls (about half way back) and the accoustic is presented nicely, with percussive effects echoing nicely off the "walls" in MCH.

A real joy - don't hesitate, I find it really hard to imagine this disc being bettered for a long time to come.

(Purchased)

Copyright © 2005 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Stereo):

Sonics (Multichannel):