Character aplenty in an imaginative album led by a beloved violinist
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS
The Strad Issue: January 2026
Description: Character aplenty in an imaginative album led by a beloved violinist
Musicians: Nicola Benedetti (violin) Plínio Fernandes (guitar) Samuele Telari (accordion) Thomas Carroll (cello) Yume Fujise (violin) Brighde Chaimbeul (Scottish smallpipes)
Works: Music by Bloch, Davies, Debussy, Dushkin, Ponce, Sarasate and Trad
Catalogue number: DECCA 4871577
Where are these cafés when you want them? This certainly beats the ones at London railway stations. Here the French timbres of the accordion and guitar accompany sumptuously delivered violin solos from Nicola Benedetti.
Well-loved favourites such as Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy swirl in sultry fashion, false harmonics delivered with playful ease, coloured by artful and idiomatic arrangements by a variety of hands that sizzle with passion and energy.
Bloch’s From Jewish Life calms the atmosphere with a more devotional atmosphere, before the tempo picks up with the feisty pyrotechnics of Wieniawski’s Polonaise de Concert, which Benedetti first learnt when she was 13.
The Scottish folk arrangements with small bagpipes are very effective and catchy in the Hackey Honey Reel, with contrast coming from the lyrical Skye Boat Song, while A’ Choille Gruamach is spellbinding, as the pipes and violin chant the simple melodies. The menu finishes with Beau soir, an early song by Debussy that evocatively coaxes in a beguiling feast of languid invention.
Benedetti’s playing is utterly beautiful, but I think the defining characteristics of this album are the highly imaginative arrangements for this piquant ensemble.
JOANNE TALBOT
No comments yet