Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35

“Zimmermann makes light of the difficulties, throwing off the fiendish cadenzas (by Pawel Kochanski, the dedicatee of both works) with effortless ease. It is good to see a German fiddler championing Britten’s youthful work (1939-40), played here with the Swedish Radio SO under Manfred Honeck. Zimmermann’s sweet, intense tone is especially compelling in the concluding Passacaglia — prophetic of Britten’s mature style.” Sunday Times, 19th July 2009 ****

“[Britten's] Violin Concerto is given a forceful account by Zimmerman and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Zimmermann does particular justice to the shimmering, perfumed colours of [Szymanowski's Violin Concerto] No 1.” The Telegraph, 11th August 2009 ***

“Benjamin Britten's violin concerto has never been among his most approachable works, but Zimmermann's cool, lyrical, crystal-clear style suits it perfectly, especially in the final Passacaglia, which gradually acquires a huge, desolate power. [In the two Szymanowsky concertos], Zimmermann perhaps lacks some rhapsodic warmth, but the gloriously exotic sounds of the First Concerto are magnificently realised, and the more folk-inspired Second blossoms idiomatically.” The Observer, 26th July 2009

“The performances are close on definitive. Soloist Frank Peter Zimmermann has the remarkable ability to adapt his tone to each work: he attains a unique level of tragic anguish in the Britten, but the craggy sound he deploys there contrasts sharply with the syrupy decadence he brings to Szymanowski's First and the heavyweight lyricism with which he plays the Second. The orchestral contributions are outstanding, too: the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit are match-less in Szymanowski; for the Britten, Manfred Honeck conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony with a searching intensity that matches Zimmermann's own.” The Guardian, 14th August 2009

“…Zimmermann… seems more at home in the Second Concerto, where the ecstatic element is leavened with the folk-influence that Szymanowski adopted later in his life - think Bartók rather than Scriabin. …in the Britten… Zimmermann is again responsive to the music's changing moods, and expresses them with an enormously varied tonal palette, and in the scherzo, with considerable virtuosity. Manfred Honeck steers his orchestra expertly, and the Swedish recording has bite.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2009 ****

“…Zimmermann plays with flawless technique, ravishing pose and subtle range of colour. These are readings of strong personality, gutsy temperament and full-throated ardour. The captivating First Concerto is as passionate, sensuous and poetic as one could wish... The Britten is scarcely less impressive...” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009

“They make an admirable coupling, the two Szymanowski violin concertos, but a demanding one for the soloist. They are both so beautiful that it must be tempting to embellish both with a similarly glowing tone.
They inhabit quite different worlds (they were written 16 years apart) and Zehetmair shows how well they respond to quite different approaches.
In the First, after a rapt solo entry, he uses for the most part a lovely but delicate tone, expanding to athletic incisiveness but not often to lushness.
It all fits very well with Rattle's handling of the orchestra: occasionally full and rich but mostly a sequence of exquisitely balanced chamber ensembles. Generous but finely controlled rubato from both soloist and conductor allows the concerto's improvisatory fantasy to flower; and the quiet close even has a touch of wit to it.
Zehetmair's sound is immediately less ethereal, more robust, for the opening melody of the Second Concerto. This is the sort of tone, you suspect, that he would use in Bartók's Second Concerto, and it points up a vein of Bartókian strength to this work's longer and firmer lines.
Rattle, too, seeks out bolder and more dense colours.
The Paganini Caprices were equipped by Szymanowski not with deferential accompaniments but with independent and quite freely composed piano parts. They change Paganini, even where the violin part is unmodified, into a late Romantic virtuoso, with a hint of Lisztian poetry alongside the expertly pointed-up fireworks of the Twenty-Fourth Caprice; even here Zehetmair is a listening violinist, not one to upstage his excellent pianist. The Romance, the warmest and most luscious piece here, is beautifully done but with a touch of restraint to prevent it cloying. A first-class coupling, and a recording that makes the most of the superb acoustic of Symphony Hall in Birmingham.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Benedetti shows a real individuality and maturity. It's an interesting programme well suited to her excellent technique and tone, which she intuitively adapts to suit each of the works...Best of all though is her stunningly mature performance of the Chausson Poème. This piece suits her playing perfectly and she produces a consistent line throughout as good as some of the greats of the past.” Claire Rogers, bbc.co.uk, 9th May 2005

“Technically, she's supremely accomplished and refined…” The Guardian, 13th November 2009 ***

“From this recording one would imagine that hers is not a big tone but it is an opulent one, cushioned by ample if well controlled vibrato. That opulence makes her playing of the heartfelt melody in the slow movement of Dvorák's Violin Concerto winningly rich. She is equally successful in bringing out the marked Slavonic flavours in the outer movements... treating the dance rhythms of the finale with sparkling lightness. ...Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto... is a difficult work for soloist and conductor to hold together with its sharp contrasts of mood and tempo, but the alliance of Steinbacher and Janowski achieves that with total conviction. ...a performance that carries total conviction.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2010

“…in a haunting performance of Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1 the solo part seems to float in over a lush orchestra. Steinbacher's tone is sweet, her playing poised - in satisfying contrast to the muscular contribution of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Marek Janowski. ...Dvorák's Romance in F minor, which calls for (and receives) flowing, song-like lines. ...same composer's Violin Concerto...was written in the wake of the Slavonic Dances, something that show especially in the dance-infused finale... This is a performance in which the soloist sounds as if she is leading the dance, and everyone is rhythmically buoyant in the heady climax of an enjoyable and vividly recorded disc.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 ****

“Steinbacher makes a powerful case for Szymanowski's First Concerto as a minor masterpiece” Classic FM Magazine, August 2011 ****

“Alena Baeva is an impressive young violinist from Kazakhstan who here with a Polish orchestra on a Polish label gives brilliant and compelling performances of both the Szymanowski violin concertos.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2008

“Ilya Kaler is a near ideal interpreter of these works and the delightful Nocturne and Tarantella which serve as makeweight. His playing certainly has the requisite passion, but he also has a strong sense of line.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2007 ****

“Naxos offers an exceptionally clear recording of these three concertante works by Szymanowski, not just the two violin concertos but an orchestrated version of the Nocturne and Tarantella.
Ilya Kaler, as on his other Naxos discs, gives pure, clear readings with flawless intonation and careful use of vibrato. Having a Polish conductor and orchestra as his accompanists adds to the idiomatic feel of each, with the magical orchestral sounds beautifully conjured up, particularly in No 1, the more radical of the two works.
Kaler is a degree warmer with a shade more vibrato than some interpreters, and the Naxos recording brings out the fantasy of the composer's orchestration, particularly in No 1, with wonderful clarity. In the more openly lyrical Second Concerto, Kaler adopts more flowing speeds with lighter results.
Kaler then plays the relatively brief Nocturneand Tarantella just as sympathetically, with the Tarantella a flamboyant virtuoso vehicle making a splendid climax to an excellent disc. The point which trumps all competition inevitably is that the Naxos issue, beautifully and idiomatically played and brilliantly recorded, comes at such a reasonable price.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“A wonderfully compelling disc from Ilya Kaler…in the sense that you never want to stop listening to it…as on his other Naxos discs [Ilya Kaler] gives pure, clear readings with flawless intonation and careful use of vibrato…beautifully and idiomatically played.” Gramophone Magazine