This generous compilation presents Sibelius’ popular Violin Concerto along with some of his lesser-known works. Boris Belkin pulls out all the stops and then some in his two-fisted rendition of the concerto. He plays with a big, gutsy tone and launches headlong into the music without a backward glance, minor virtues like subtlety and intonation be damned. This approach makes the first movement superficially exciting, but it wrecks the finale where Belkin’s tone becomes brutish and his intonation precarious, especially in the more rapid passages. Conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy seems to have an altogether different conception of the piece: his accompaniment is broader in tempo and more secure in execution. The far more restrained Two Melodies for Violin & Orchestra find Belkin better in control of his instrument, playing these exquisitely carved gems with chaste beauty. The less exotic Two Serenades are done with similar care. Decca’s 1980 recording suffers from early digital edginess. A welcome bonus: Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields offer a proficient and idiomatic performance of the Rakastava Suite, which inhabits the world of the Sixth Symphony with its moto perpetuo passages and contrasting elegiac and passionate moods. The sound in this case has satisfying warmth.
