As I have remarked before, Janine Jansen's recent recording of Britten's violin concerto is a modern classic and, single-handed, she elevates this somewhat neglected concerto into the "significant" bracket (aided by Paavo Järvi and the LSO). What comes over with Jansen's playing is her passionate commitment to the music.

Which is something that is very much absent from Tasmin Little's recording of the Karlowicz and Moszkowski violin concertos (Hyperion, with the BBC Scottish Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins). Everyone plays correctly, but there is no passion. And, I noticed, Little and Brabbins keep all 70+ minutes of music on the disk alternating between mezzo forte and mezzo piano. Not very satisfactory and I was sad, since I enjoyed the Moszkowski concerto recently but was disappointed by the routine and lukewarm playing (Thomas Christian). It is good that these second and third division concertos are played and recorded but, as the Britten of Janine Jansen proves, they really come into their own when played by performers with a deep commitment.