Joshua Bell, Vladimir Ashkenazy - Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski: Violin Concertos (1988)

This is a lovely coupling of one of the top violin concertos of all time with one of the 19th century's most popular,virtuoso concertos. Joshua Bell is sensitively accompanied by the Cleveland Orchestra under the leadership of Vladimir Ashkenazy. The solo performances are rendered on a beautiful, rare, guitar-shaped Stradivarius violin. The performances emerge with pace and precision. There is a beautiful, tender melancholy about the second movement of the Tchaikovsky with some lovely interchanges with the woodwind. The final movement is by turns effervescent,lively and thoughtful.
Wieniawski was born in Poland but lived in Russia when writing this concerto.The Wieniawski concerto may be less well-known but has a lot going for it, which the young Joshua Bell tackles with confidence. The first movement features many virtuosic features. The poetry of the second movement Romance is tenderly rendered while the final movement arises from a tremendous cadenza and is representative of a popular Hungarian style.
I can thoroughly recommend the lyricism of these performances coupled with their technical mastery. - well worth their place in a CD collection.