COMPOSERS: Haydn Wood,Sainsbury
LABELS: Dutton
WORKS: sainsbury Violin Concerto, Op. 14 haydn wood Violin Concerto in A minor; Violin Concerto in B minor – Adagio
PERFORMER: Lorraine McAslan (violin); BBC Concert Orchestra/Barry Wordsworth
CATALOGUE NO: CDLX 7245
Lionel Sainsbury was born the year before Haydn Wood died (1958), yet both concertos, composed 60 years apart, are underpinned by the same tonal impulses that continue to drive mainstream music to the present day.
Anyone who thrills to the sound of the Khachaturian Concerto will find the Sainsbury especially conducive, while the Wood should appeal to those drawn to Delius and the virtuosity of Wieniawski.
Lorraine McAslan soars aloft in both concertos, shading her ecstatic cantabile with portamentosreminiscent of Jascha Heifetz – indeed at times Heifetz’s classic West Coast recordings of the 1950s are brought irresistibly to mind.
McAslan plays both concertos as though they were among the most treasured in the repertoire, producing a special lyrical intensity in the slow movement of the Wood guaranteed to have Romantic diehards misting over within seconds. The BBC Concert Orchestra provides devoted support and the recording is out of the top drawer. Julian Haylock
