Sibelius Violin Concerto De Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain (2000)

Sibeliuss solitary concerto is one of the most passionate tests for the violin virtuoso one to which Maxim Vengerov is more than equal He captures the works passion and its occasional quirky patches of the spookily sublime His performances of the Sarabande from the Bach Second Partita and the Ballade from Ysayes Third Sonata are admirable encores demonstrating his range and his elegant control Daniel Barenboims piano performance of the de Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain is equally virtuosic bringing out the works structure as well as its local color Placido Domingos conducting is solid and serviceable Barenboim ends the concert with three de Falla orchestral showstoppersthe Farruca from The ThreeCornered Hat and the Magic Circle and Ritual Fire Dance from Love the Magician The Chicago Symphony perform throughout with their usual vigor and fine orchestral color but are particularly remarkable in these three encores