Violin Concertos

Another admirable release by violinist Linus Roth. Roth's playing is faultless throughout with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin providing a lush cushion for Roth's soloistic antics. The release also has the selling point of being a DSD recording, should you have suitable equipment to enjoy it.

The album features the excellent programming of combining Britten and Weinberg; while the close connections between Britten and Shostakovich have often been noted, the influence on Weinberg is an underexplored topic itself.

The solo part for the Britten, while virtuosic, also demands a great sense of leading a drama. Roth fills the position of orator admirably, with little doubt as to his coolness in the role. Balance across the orchestra is excellent, giving a well-polished sound, particularly emphasized in the 'punching' gestures to be heard in the middle movement. The recording throughout is nuanced and warm, paying attention to the delicacies of Britten's orchestration, as well as the ferocity of his punctuating motifs throughout.

Next, I turn to a work that I am much more familiar with, Weinberg's Violin Concerto, Op. 67. The first movement opens with a strident gesture, quickly answered by the soloist. This immediately establishes the soloist-ensemble dialogue over the course of the work - that the Violin solo really does lead the music, in a brawling drama that is fully sustained over the course of the whole Concerto. Roth's handling of the virtuosic part is excellent throughout, never rising above a controlled restraint through the most fiendish passages, while also extremely tender in the Adagio movement.

Overall, I cannot fault this recording, particularly the lush sound engineering. I can only hope that this album can serve as a persuasive case to encourage other violinists to take up both of these works - but especially the Weinberg.