Vengerov & Virtuosi
Fiddle fanciers will have a field day with this disc, whose 15 selections veer wildly between treacle and flash, sauce and sentiment. Everything's done with virtuosity. How could it be otherwise with Maxim Vengerov front and center, his instrument either throbbing with emotion or getting giggles from the audience with its imitation of high-pitched bird squawks? He's supported by a pianist and the 11 violins of Virtuosi, who back him in this selection of encore pieces whose arrangements are sometimes clever, sometimes corny. At times, it all gets a bit much (innocent bystanders can be smothered in vibrato); at other times listeners who suspend their critical faculties can just enjoy it. Vengerov certainly seems to and so does the Viennese audience.--Dan Davis