First Class Britten from Isabelle Faust

Isabelle Faust with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Jakub Hrusa give a truly magnificent performance of Benjamin Britten's violin concerto (first-class live recording from 2021). In this concerto, the orchestra is almost on an equal footing to the soloist; it really is a concerto for violin and orchestra. The work has had a chequered history since 1938, mainly ignored until recently when performances have really burst into bloom. My shelves now hold 23 recordings of the work; I rarely give three stars to a recording, but my 23 Britten concerto recordings show a record ten three-stars out of 23! Isabelle Faust, Kerson Leong, Augustin Hadelich, James Ehnes, Baiba Skride, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Simone Lamsma, Vilde Frang, Arabella Steinbacher are among the 3-star winners. An extraordinary turnaround for a recently rarely heard work that is now among my favourites of all violin concertos.

Not that I am a fan of Britten's music in general. In my younger years I dutifully enjoyed two orchestral serenades with tenor, the War Requiem, and the opera Peter Grimes; but my enthusiasm faded with time. Faust fills her CD with bits and pieces Britten wrote for violin and piano; all instantly forgettable, except maybe the concert study for violin and piano "Reveille".

I cannot recall off-hand all 23 recordings I have of the work, let alone the 9-10 three-stars. Ida Haendel is the only "oldie" to feature in my collection (1977). Whenever I want to re-listen to the concerto, it is probably Ms Faust who will come off the shelf because of the truly excellent combination of violin playing, orchestral contribution, sensitive conducting, and a well-balanced recording. Stars all round.

Johan Dalene plays "Souvenirs"

I have been listening to the violinist Johan Dalene accompanied by Peter Friis Johansson, on a CD entitled "Souvenirs". A medley of well-known pieces for violin and piano. Dalene is a Norwegian in his early twenties at the time of this recording. Positive things first. Dalene really has technique to burn. Some of his playing, for example at the end of Waxman's Carmen Fantasia, would have seen even Heifetz's jaw drop. And then: the sound he draws from his Strad violin is some of the loveliest violin sound I have ever heard.

All wonderful so far. If I have a criticism, it's that too much of Dalene's playing sounds studied: he plays a lot from the head, and not too often from the heart. It's as if almost every bar he plays bears his written instruction on how to play it. Ravel's Tzigane suffers greatly from this trait. And the recorded sound suffers a bit from the modern desire for the fullest dynamic range, which means that on much home equipment, if the volume is set so you can hear the violin playing pianissimo in the upper register, the full sound forte will blow your socks off.

Souvenirs is a nice collection of old favourites: Tzigane, Massenet's Méditation, Tchaikovsky's three pieces from Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Saint-Saëns' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, De Falla's dance from La Vida Breve, Kreisler's Recitative and Scherzo. Franz Waxman's Hollywood Carmen Fantasy is played, though I would have much preferred that by Sarasate. All the pieces are ultra-familiar. I'll remember "Souvenirs" for the incredible technique and wonderful violin sound. But there are more heartfelt versions of pretty well every piece on this CD.

Vilde Frang plays Elgar

Edward Elgar's only violin concerto is echt late 19th century romantic music, superbly written for the violin (Elgar was a violinist ). Arguably, it is over-long at around 45 minutes and suffers from the late-Romantic bloat that afflicted many works of that era; the solo violinist must demand overtime payment for playing it, especially since the long cadenza comes right at the end of the finale. It is one of only three notable British violin concertos, the others being by Walton and Britten (though I have never cared for the Walton concerto, written with Heifetz). Now, in my late years, it is one of those concertos where I find the music over-familiar, and I listen to the work more for the soloist than for the music itself.

The latest incarnation on my shelves does not disappoint: Vilde Frang is at one with the work. I love listening to her playing, and she gets everything right, not over-sentimalising the sentimental passages in the manner of Igor Oistrakh who made the work sound like Puccini in a melancholy mood. Ms Frang obviously likes the concerto, and this is the third recording I have in which she plays the solo part. Here, she is accompanied by the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Robin Ticciati. Previous recordings saw her with the Oslo Philharmonic conducted by Vasily Petrenko (to which I gave three stars) and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Krzysztof Urbanski. Obviously a concerto for which Ms Frang feels an affection. I can't remember the previous two recordings, but this third is perfectly satisfactory and I enjoyed the violin playing immensely, especially in the second movement where the violinist exhibits real feeling and empathy. Balance between soloist and orchestra is excellent in this recording.