"A very grand performance, full of swaggering confidence and interpretative panache... effortless technical security and notable artistry..."  Gramophone

68338 - Available on CD

I. Allegro moderato  wav (890k) | real audio

The composers Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich define two separate eras in Russian music, and the concertos they wrote for violin are some of the most passionate works in the repertoire. In her new recording with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic, Midori delivers these extremely challenging virtuoso showpieces with the excitement and dramatic intensity that only a live recording can capture. In the concerts at the Berlin Philharmonic in March 1995 and December 1997 that this album documents, Midori once again cemented her position as one of the finest violinists on the planet. The New York Times raves, "Midori seems transformed... impassioned, as never before... Today she sounds far more spontaneous and increasingly personal, projecting an expressive fluidity and a gutsy emotive force."