Stonking Volatility

Last year Isabelle Faust gave us the outstanding disc of the year featuring one of the greatest violin concertos of the 20th century. After that triumphant account of the Berg (coupled with the Beethoven), she has returned with a new recording of Bartók's two violin concertos, joined by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Harding. Even it doesn't quite eclipse last year's offering, this is still a seriously impassioned disc, showing Faust in stonking form.

Bartók's First Violin Concerto has naturally be eclipsed by its kinetic successor, though judging by the post-Romantic intensity of Faust and Harding's performance, number one deserves a seriously considered reappraisal. Like Abbado's reading of the Berg, Harding is totally unabashed about delivering the emotional force of a work which is littered with markings such as 'always volatile', 'utterly desolate' and 'with great feeling'. Faust's sweet voice is rendered even more heavenly by the fervency of the Swedes' playing.

The ensuing Allegro giocoso begins as a barbed retort, but likewise soon wears its heart on its sleeve. Faust brings wonderful heal-of-the-bow bite to more virtuoso passages, spurring the orchestra into life, with thrilling exchanges between the violin and upward spiralling woodwind. Occasionally the bloomy production, made in the Berdwaldhallen in Stockholm, fudges details, but Faust, the orchestra and Harding still manage to bring this unjustly overlooked work into heartfelt and energetic life.

Infinitely more familiar is the 1938 Concerto, written for Zoltán Székely. Like Berg's near contemporaneous work, it has many great advocates, though again Faust is undaunted by the performance history. Hers is a lush reading, with swooning phrases and an accompaniment as plush as the work's predecessor. Yet Faust and Harding are sure to maintain a firm grip, with terrific thrust and pace, revealing yet further parallels with the First Violin Concerto.

The Mahlerian Andante is delivered without fuss, though it blooms sufficiently when Faust is joined by the burnished Swedish strings. Again the sound doesn't always allow smaller facets to tell precisely – for a clearer but no less engaging performance choose Shaham, Chicago and Boulez – though it suits the heady performance on offer. That is until the caustic humour of the Finale kicks in, delivered with a deliciously violent swing. Answering Faust's call, Harding caps this thrilling recording with a mad shock of orchestral colour. Click here to order a copy.

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