Vengerov
Envy the lucky pianists! Their literature includes a virtually unlimited supply of wonderful small pieces by the greatest composers, enough to fill an entire program with interesting, varied, high-quality music. By comparison, most of the short works in the violin repertoire are pure bravura pieces, written by other violinists to show off their own virtuosity. No serious performer would devote a whole recital to that sort of insubstantial fluff. On disc, however, and in the right hands, such a program can work well, and Maxim Vengerov is just the man to bring it off. For this record, he has chosen 12 popular favorites "dear to his heart" (and no doubt his fingers). Alternating slow, sweetly singing melodies with brilliant technical fireworks, they serve to display his incredible instrumental mastery and incomparably beautiful tone to splendid effect. However,  his natural charm and ability to change mood and character in a micro-second are what really distinguishes these performances. He makes even warhorses like Kreisler's "Liebesleid" and "Liebesfreud" sound fresh and spontaneous and plays with so much genuine inner expressiveness that there is never a hint of cheap sentimentality. Vengerov's enjoyment is palpable and infectious, as is that of pianist Ian Brown, who supports him with total empathy and produces a lovely, subtly nuanced sound. The program is supposed to feature works by violinist-composers, but includes John Williams' all-too ubiquitous theme from "Schindler's List" and the D-flat variation from Rachmaninov's "Paganini Rhapsody" in a Kreisler transcription that preserves nothing but the key. No matter: as long as this infinitely endearing violinist continues to play the great masterpieces of the literature, no one would begrudge him an occasional virtuoso fling.--Edith Eisler