Decca's 2006 release of violinist
Janine Jansen's coupling of concertos by
Mendelssohn and Bruch may find her technique occasionally sloppy and her tone a bit sappy, but there's no dismissing her ardent attacks, warm vibrato, frisky rhythms, and seductive interpretations. Conductor
Riccardo Chailly seems smitten by
Jansen in the way he leads the
Gewandhaus Orchester in its accompaniments, and the recording's focus is almost entirely on the soloist at the expense of the orchestra. This combination tends to exaggerate the technical weaknesses of her performances at the expense of the quality of the music. Yet, the addition of Bruch's nearly unknown, but utterly charming Romance for viola and orchestra will make this disc mandatory listening for fans of the composer's much more popular violin concertos and Scottish Fantasy.