Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 44

While Max Bruch’s first Violin Concerto is one of the most popular in the repertoire, his other two remain relatively unknown.

The second, dedicated to the virtuoso Pablo Sarasate, opens with a rhapsodic Adagio brimming with sublime melodies, its declamatory middle movement leading to a rhythmic finale.

In contrast, the third, from 1891, launches heroically, the soloist taking centre-stage in the lyrical Adagio middle movement, a perpetuum mobile rondo finale capping the work.

Maxim Fedotov’s recording of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 can be heard on Naxos 8557689. His recording of the Scottish Fantasy is available on 8557395.

Reissue Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer: Mark Obert-Thorn

Heifetz’s unequalled combination of silky legato, classically contained phrasing and technical dexterity found its perfect match in the Concertos of Max Bruch. The G minor recording was the first of two that he made with Sargent and it is, if anything, even finer in its lyric generosity than the 1962 remake. Bruch’s Second Concerto and Spohr’s Eighth were both recorded (as were the Beethoven Romances) in Hollywood, and are the violinist’s only recordings of either work. He exhibits superb control of the former’s long-breathed narrative, and of the latter’s operatic intensity of expression.

recorded in St Eustache Church, Quebec, May 2002