CONCERTO CHOICE
A striking display of subtlety and style
Baiba Skride’s Britten is among the best in a crowded field, says Martin Cotton
Britten
Violin Concerto; Double Concerto for Violin and Viola
Baiba Skride (violin), Ivan Vukčević (viola); ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien/Marin
Alsop Orfeo C220021 58:00 mins
When it comes to recordings of Britten’s Violin Concerto, Baiba Skride enters a crowded field, with many famous names jostling for position. She more than holds her own, spinning a generously singing line over the ostinato accompaniment after the quietly menacing percussion opening, and moving seamlessly into the agitato central section.
The subtlety of her phrasing and range of her tonal palette reveal Skride as a Romantic player of real stature, and in the Prokofiev-like scherzo she’s not afraid to dig in and make less beautiful sounds when needed. The orchestra has a more dominant role in the final , and Alsop gives the sometimes awkward structure an overarching shape. She and
