CD
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
At last, Elgar's Violin Sonata (1918) has some high-power advocates. Kennedy, Midori, and Maxim Vengerov are some of the young superstar violinists who have recorded this beautiful yet elusive work. And Daniel Hope's Nimbus recording can stand with the best of them. He has a big, bold, firmly focused sound, yet he can play with breathtaking delicacy -- a necessary quality to make the most of the haunted, haunting slow movement. William Walton's Violin Sonata (1949) is a clever coupling. Walton's music is more cosmopolitan, with an odd kind of lyricism that can sting as well as soothe. Hope emphasizes the music's intimate qualities, aided admirably by pianist Simon Mulligan (although one wishes the piano didn't sound quite so recessed). In between the Elgar and Walton is a sweetly sad Elegy (1940) by Gerald Finzi. This CD is a musical Anglophile's delight -- a recital to savor over and over again. Andrew Farach-Colton, Barnes & Noble