Sibelius – Violin Concerto / De Falla – Nights In The Gardens Of Spain DVD – Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Placido Domingo

Sibelius’s 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 work’s passion and its occasional quirky patches of the spookily sublime. His performances of the “Sarabande” from the Bach Second Partita, and the “Ballade” from Ysaye’s Third Sonata, are admirable encores demonstrating his range and his elegant control. Barenboim’s performance of the de Falla Nights is equally virtuoso, bringing out the work’s structure as well as its local colour; Domingo’s conducting is solid and serviceable. Barenboim ends the concert with three de Falla orchestral showstoppers–the “Farruca” from The Three-Cornered Hat and the “Magic Circle” and “Ritual Fire Dance” from Love the Magician; the Chicago Symphony perform throughout with their usual vigour and fine orchestral colour, but are particularly remarkable in these three encores. On the DVD: The DVD comes with the usual subtitles in standard European languages. –Roz Kaveney