Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Other Works (Hyperion Romantic Violin Concerto 21)

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Product Description The ‘justly celebrated’ Jack Liebeck (as described by The Strad) follows in the footsteps of Heifetz and Perlman in championing Bruch’s now neglected Violin Concerto No 2, originally written for Sarasate. Three shorter concertante works for violin and orchestra complete the album (Bruch thought the Adagio appassionato one of his best works) which marks volume 21 in our highly regarded Romantic Violin Concerto series. Review Max Bruch's Second Violin Concerto has had a rough deal from posterity. In many ways it's a much more distinctive and personal work than his enduringly popular First Concerto, much less in awe of Brahms's example, though maybe its sometimes ominous introspection has counted against it achieving the same popularity. Apparently the concerto follows a scenario something to do with a battle during the Spanish Carlist wars that Pablo de Sarasate, for whom it was written in 1877, insisted that Bruch follow, but as Jack Liebeck's nicely restrained performance shows, it's a piece that s perfectly capable of standing on its own musical feet. His fine-grained playing gets exemplary support from Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, who never overdo the menace that underlies the first movement especially. The F sharp minor Konzertstück and another minor-key piece, In Memoriam, which Bruch composed for Joseph Joachim in 1893, make substantial fill-ups; both are brought off with perfect tact by Liebeck.**** --Guardian, 22/12/16 There's much to admire in Jack Liebeck's patrician account of Bruch's D Minor Violin Concerto. His playing is virtually flawless in its technical ease, scintillating articulateness and purity of tone. Gramophone,Jan'17 /// Impressive performances of the Concerto and of the 'lesser' pieces. --Music Web, Feb'17 Throughout the second Concerto, with its unforgettable soaring opening, Liebeck combines a beguiling silvery sound with tantilising interpretative restraint , free of heart-on-the sleeve rhetoric. Performance **** Recording **** --BBC Music Magazine, Jan'17