As a showcase for a very fine violinist, this disc serves its purpose. It’s also worth having for the fine account of the Ponce Concerto, a wonderfully written work full of good tunes and ear-catching harmonies that seems never to get played. Miranda Cuckson, yet another excellent, Juilliard-trained artist makes one lovely sound after another. Her tone has a luscious, dusky quality in its lower register, and a penetrating but always beguiling purity on high. These works offer no significant technical hurdles for her, and she tackles the cadenzas in both concertos’ first movements with considerable relish and complete success. I also like the slowish tempo for the finale of the Korngold, which allows lots of rhythmic detail that usually gets lost to cut through the rich instrumental textures.
The problem, though, rests with the orchestra, which has some rough moments in the first movement of the Ponce and in the finale of the Korngold (the big climax just before the end badly misfires), faults which to some extent must also be laid at the feet of conductor Paul Freeman, who offers ‘accompaniment’ and little else. Good balances and clear recorded sound top off an enjoyable disc, on the whole, and I’m glad to have made Miss Cuckson’s acquaintance. But both she, and the music, deserve a more characterful and polished framework in which to operate. Recommended primarily to fans of new talent or these particular works; otherwise with the reservations noted.
