Busoni: Violin Concerto; Beethoven/Busoni: Benedictus; Strauss: Violin Concerto

The Romantic Violin Concerto — 16
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Artist: Tanja Becker-Bender, Garry Walker, Ferruccio Busoni, Richard Strauss
Genre: Classical
Label: Hyper

The legacy of great 19th-century violin concertos from Beethoven onwards lies clearly behind the violin concertos that 18-year-old Richard Strauss wrote in 1882 and 31-year-old Ferruccio Busoni wrote in 1897. Neither man had yet found his individual voice. The teenage Strauss's work is the more overtly showy, while Busoni's is more compact and inward. Tanja Becker-Bender's approach to both is measured, the result of musical balance and composure rather than reined-in speeds. She plays in a way that allows every detail to register. The Busoni, a work whose day has not yet quite come, benefits most from the always thoughtful approach. Maybe its time is now. url.ie/4qdb

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor