Saint-Saëns: Violin Concertos CD

 Don't look further for Saint-Saëns Violin Concertos
This is one of the few recordings that combine all three Saint-Saëns Violin Concertos on a single CD. Starting with the soloist, although less known in North America, Mr. Graffin who is a laureate of the Fritz Kreisler Competition in Austria has done a brilliant career in Europe. Here he plays these concertos with a masterly technique, elegant phrasing and with few exceptions (finale of the third concerto) with an astonishing exact pitch. Tempi markings are generally well respected (again, one exception being the finale of the third concerto where Allegro non troppo is played rather Molto allegro). Mr. Graffin plays with great spontaneity, wit and a poetic approach inherent in these concertos. The violin sounds transparent and the melodies are played without any exaggerated accent. Graffin is gracefully accompanied by BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Martyn Brabbins. The orchestra sounds smooth and never over-boisterous. Dialogues between the soloist and orchestra and the orchestral connecting passages before solo entries are all cheerfully executed. Also, the recording is well balanced and the soloist is placed right in front of the orchestra but not too close. If it were not due to slight shortcomings in the finale of the third concerto, this performance could easily rival or even surpass Nathan Milstein’s landmark recording of the third concerto. But altogether, this collection contains almost 76 minutes of joyful music making with plenty of caressing melodies characteristic of Saint-Saëns. Furthermore, it is offered at a very reasonable price which makes it highly recommendable.
Submitted by mahine (Montréal, (QC), Canada) 
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