Tasmin Little, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Edward Gardner - Szymanowski & Karlowicz: Violin Concertos (2017) [SACD]

None of these three Polish violin concertos are terribly common on concert programs. They are fearsomely virtuosic, and British violinist Tasmin Little meets the challenges in every way that could be desired. Sample the finale of the five-movement Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35, of Karol Szymanowski, with the long, double-stop-strewn, cadenza-like passage in the middle answered by orchestral tumult. It's an exciting work throughout, and the Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 61, of 1933, is even better, with strong folkloric elements pared down to compact statements in a fascinating way that suggests Szymanowski had been listening to Bartók and trying to reconcile his discoveries with his own language. The final concerto by Miezyslaw Karlowicz is a bravura work in the Tchaikovskian vein, especially at the very beginning where Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 is the clear model. -- James Manheim