Vilde Frang in Mozart Concertos

I am a great admirer of Vilde Frang's violin playing, so I was particularly disappointed with her new CD of Mozart concertos (the 1^st and 5^th for violin, plus the Sinfonia Concertante). She has been cajoled into playing with little of her normal vibrato and this coupled with the fact she is recorded somewhat distantly, makes her playing sound oddly cool and thin. No such problem with Maxim Rysanov who joins her in the Sinfonia, however, where his warm vibrato sound is most welcome.

The “orchestra” (Arcangelo) sounding here more like a large chamber group isn't much help, playing with a conspicuous lack of legato, and being forced into some odd, choppy phrasing by the evidently interventionist conductor, Jonathan Cohen. One suspects an orchestra would have been better left to its own devices and instincts. And some of the allegros are just too allegro for my taste; they often sound rushed. When it comes to Mozart violin concertos, I'll continue to get down Arthur Grumiaux, or the recent Arabella Steinbacher. This modern passion for attempting to imitate the presumed sound of an 18^th century performance does Mozart no favours; I am sure he, a lover of beautiful music, would have welcomed Steinbacher or Grumiaux with open arms, whilst being lukewarm over poor Vilde Frang as recorded here. No stars for this one.