Janine Jansen’s recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto – a landmark disc for any violinist – is taken live from concerts in Rome with Antonio Pappano and his Santa Cecilia orchestra. Their sound is rich and weighty, the better to support Jansen’s interpretation, itself heavyweight yet characteristically mercurial. Jansen’s playing glows, and the second theme of the first movement really sings; here and throughout, there is the feeling that Jansen wants every phrase to say something. Refreshingly in this sometimes over-veneered work, she is not afraid to let the sound turn fleetingly vehement when needed. The unusual pairing is with Bartók’s Concerto No 1, its first movement an unrequited love song from the composer to the violinist Stefi Geyer. There is no doubt of the sincerity of feeling in Jansen’s performance, all tender lyricism and contained but palpable passion. It’s balanced convincingly by the second, final movement, in which the playing is crisp and characterful from soloist and orchestra alike.
