PAGANINI: VIOLIN CONCERTO NO 1; SPOHR: VIOLIN CONCERTO NO 8
Hilary Hahn (violin), Swedish Radio SO/ Eiji Oue
Deutsche Grammophon 477 6232
*****

Hilary Hahn says she sees the two violin concertos recorded here, both written in 1816, as works which bring the character of vocal writing to the violin. The intention is explicit in the case of Spohr's Concerto in A minor, which carries the subtitle, "In the form of a vocal scene," and the connection between Paganini's melodic lines and bel canto opera is also clear. Hahn is certainly as good as her word in the way she plays the two pieces, riding smoothly over many of the technical challenges that violinistic tradition has her dramatise for the sake of effect. Musically speaking, the rewards of her care and imagination are like a breath of fresh air, and her violinistic precision is often breath-taking. www.deutschegrammophon.com

BEETHOVEN: STRING TRIO OP 3; SERENADE OP 8
Attila Falvay (violin), János Fejérvári (viola), György Éder (cello)
Naxos 8.557895
****

Beethoven's first two string trios are substantial works, 40 minutes and 27 minutes in these new performances - he was clearly modelling both of these six-movement works on Mozart's great Divertimento for string trio of 1788. Music for string trio lives deeply in the shadow cast by the much richer and more celebrated repertoire for string quartet. It seems to be in the nature of string trios to challenge both composers and performers into compensating for the lack of the fourth instrument, and it's not that unusual for the results to sound strained. These new Hungarian performances, often easygoing and conversational, strike a happy balance between lightness and profundity. www.naxos.com

CHOPIN: CELLO SONATA; POLONAISE BRILLANTE OP 3; RACHMANINOV: CELLO SONATA; VOCALISE
Natalie Clein (cello), Charles Owen (piano)
EMI Classics 366 9382
**

Natalie Clein's note accompanying this disc, titled "The Romantic Cello", mentions "soaring melodies" and "truly heartfelt, personal creations" in the context of the cello sonatas by Chopin and Rachmaninov. Sadly, the playing often sounds too inward and diffident -and, contrariwise, sometimes too effortful - to take flight. Clein is not helped by the acoustic of the recording venue, which sounds too dry to keep the sound in the air once her bow leaves the string. The big drawback is her failure to sustain with conviction the long lines of the music. Charles Owen is helped by the piano's sustaining pedal, but there is still a lack of focus in his playing. Both of these talented players have been heard to better effect in concert on visits to Ireland than they are on this new disc. www.emiclassics.com

PANUFNIK: OLD POLISH SUITE; CONCERTO IN MODO ANTICO; JAGIELLONIAN TRIPTYCH; DIVERTIMENTO AFTER JANIEWICZ; HOMMAGE À CHOPIN
Igor Cechoco (trumpet), Hanna Turonek (flute), Polish Chamber Orchestra/ Mariusz Smolij
Naxos 8.570032
***

The music of Andrzej Panufnik (1914-91), who left his native Poland in 1954 and became a British citizen in 1961, was for a time better known in this part of the world than the work of Lutoslawski or Penderecki. Panufnik started his restoration of fragments of old Polish music in the late 1940s, sparked by "the superb reconstruction of beautiful 16th and 17th century houses in the old part of Warsaw". The music on this new disc, more than half of it being recorded for the first time, is somewhat on the lines of Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances or Warlock's Capriol Suite, but obviously with a flavour all its own. It's the 1949 homage to Chopin, as orchestrated for flute and strings in 1966, which strays into the most modern-sounding territory. Elsewhere Panufnik is airing the voice of antiquity. The composer's great ear for delectable surfaces is well represented by the performances under Marius Smolij. www.naxos.com