Eloquence Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1; R. Strauss: Violin Concerto CD

If you think the three pieces on this disc make odd bedfellows, just listen to the opening of the finale of the Paganini, skip to the finale of the Strauss and then go into the Tchaikovsky Valse-Scherzo. Sparkling wit and virtuosity abound and what’s more, the Paganini receives its first release on CD (outside Taiwan), the Tchaikovsky was only ever momentarily available in CD (and not in Australia) and the Strauss is a party piece quite unlike anything else the composer wrote. Boris Belkin wowed Sydney audiences by his stunning performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in Sydney as part of the Sibelius/Ashkenazy cycle, so it is good to welcome him back with this retrospective, especially as the Paganini marks the first recording he made for Decca and the Strauss his last for the label.