David Garrett & Zubin Mehta - Timeless: Brahms & Bruch Violin Concertos (2014) [Hi-Res]

The photogenic violinist David Garrett, who uses the maiden name of his American mother professionally, has been known for crossover releases featuring the likes of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." He was trained partly in Israel, which may have led to his pairing with the nearly octogenarian conductor Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Mehta makes his aims explicit in the booklet: "I hope that this CD will help David's other public, the crossover public, to also listen to Brahms and Bruch and to admire his honesty toward this music. I hope David brings in this whole generation into the classical concert hall." The performance is perhaps led by Mehta with this end in mind: as a whole it's brash, bright, and sharp. You might have a different taste in the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, especially, but the fact is that Garrett is a good deal more than adequate here. He may be following Mehta's lead in some respects, but the dense first-movement interactions between violin and orchestra Brahms wrote for the virtuoso Joseph Joachim crackle with intensity. The inevitably crowd-pleasing Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 26, of Max Bruch fits Garrett still better. The booklet offers an interview with Garrett geared toward newcomers, who may well find this album an enjoyable path into core classical repertoire. -- James Manheim