The Bottom Line: Gil Shaham has recorded the Brahms concerto before, superbly, but this remake, for his own label Canary Classics, is quite different and no less fine. The Beethoven, on the other hand, is new to his discography and very welcome in a performance of this kind of freshness and soulfulness. The Knights, a first-class chamber orchestra led by Eric Jacobsen, provide exemplary accompaniments, allowing a genuine chamber music-like interplay between solo and ensemble. With fleet yet flexible tempos, beautifully balanced engineering, and brilliant booklet notes by Brahms scholar Styra Avins, this production is unquestionably one of the discs of the year.
