Sibelius - Violin Concerto [Chang/ Jansons-Berliner Philharmoniker]This is the third time this Concerto has appeared in my Blog this month [9th May 2010 & 1st May 2010], hmmm, just in the recent past year, this has become very popular for me, the more i play it, the more i understand it and love it, and of course the more versions i buy, which makes more versions to choose from to play, but a work like this can handle so many discs, and so often playing, because i never get bored of it.
Sarah Chang is a superstar now, playing regularly all over the world, she will hit the big 30 at the end of this year, but she's relatively still young, still so much to record, i would love to hear her Brahms Violin Sonatas, also the booklet photo [Sheila Rock] is gorgeous, nice soft whites and luminous light blue, she looks truly pretty.
This time i enjoyed so much the heavenly Adagio di Molto, deep halfway through the movement, Chang develops a serious intensity i love [4:41-6:45], there's a couple of breathtaking crescendos here, but i like the upward trills on the violin [5:05-5:15], a very beautiful moment that caught my attention more than any other, another little nugget to stow away and remember forever, a Concerto that always has some surprise waiting for you to find.
Here's Sarah playing the slow movement on YouTube.
