Sarah Chang, James Conlon - Goldmark: Violin Concerto, Prometheus Overture (2000)

Despite the advocacy of Nathan Milstein and Itzhak Perlman, Goldmark's only violin concerto remains a marginal item. It is written in an attractive late-romantic style with a lot of impressive, idiomatic difficulties for the soloist, but it does meander somewhat. Now that we can stop marveling at Chang the young prodigy and consider her as a mature artist, her interpretation of this concerto bears comparison with the best. She plays with great suavity and refinement; she has a clear conception of what she wants, and plays it dazzlingly. She is very well seconded by the venerable Cologne orchestra under its American conductor, and they are all realistically recorded. The problem with the disc is that it comprises only the concerto and a long concert overture that probably won't interest most listeners very much. And Bronislaw Gimpel's antique recording of the concerto (in a super-bargain Vox set), while not nearly as well recorded, is probably more approachable as a performance; Gimpel really sells the concerto, playing with more overt romanticism. Still, Chang's many fans (including this reviewer) will certainly enjoy her playing here, while wishing they'd been offered more of it. -- Leslie Gerber