Szymanowski : Violin Concertos No.1 Op.35, No.2 Op.61 (3/2007) / Alena Baeva(vn), Boguslaw Dawidow(cond), Opole PO

Surely one of the most spirited of any composer's response to criticism was Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's remarks to critics who said unkind things about his First Violin Concerto. "What scums and bastards," he wrote to a friend. "Can you imagine they dared to look down on my Violin Concerto. I told them they were idiots and that they did not understand anything." Given the ecstatically lyrical solo writing and shimmering orchestral accompaniments, Szymanowski's concerto is indeed beautiful, and it seems to redeem his judgment. It is among the most immediately attractive twentieth century works in the form, surpassed only by the same composer's Second Concerto. But the beauty of the Second Concerto is of an entirely different order from the First. Where the First sensuously shimmers, the Second sternly shines with a hard beauty that is more awe-inspiring than breathtaking. Both works receive sparkling performances on this 2008 Dux disc from young Polish violinist Alena Baeva. Dutifully accompanied by Opole Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under Boguslaw Dawidow, Baeva seems to sing as much as play the concertos. Her tone is focused, her vibrato sweet, her technique formidable, and her interpretations wholly sympathetic. In the First, Baeva is supple and seductive. In the Second, she's strong and imperious. In both, she's an amazing virtuoso who executes the music's stupendous difficulties with passionate intensity. Dux's digital sound is wide and colorful, but not especially deep or detailed.