Violin Concertos Nos. 2 And 3

"Misha Keylin...has gamely taken up Vieuxtemps' cause...[He] brings displays a gorgeous, rounded tone and a distinctively Russian phrasing style to both works. His nuanced readings fully convey the operatic impulse that drives the violin writing, and he has the technique to sail easily through the virtuosic flourishes that make Vieuxtemps' violin works the showpieces they are."
- THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA)

"The Russian virtuoso, Misha Keylin has [the Concertos'] full measure and he has the kind of Slavonic flair that brings these tuneful, well-crafted concertos fully to life."
- GRAMOPHONE (United Kingdom)

"By good fortune Naxos has chosen a splendid player to introduce us to Nos. 2 and 3. The Russian artist, Misha Keylin, emigrated to the USA at the age of nine and by 15 was already a soloist at Carnegie Hall. His timbre is rich, with a duskily subtle control of color, his technique impeccable, and there is the kind of Slavonic flair that can bring such lightweight but masterly concertos fully to life.... [Keylin] phrases most enticingly, in a heartfelt but never cloying manner [and] his touches of rubato, his quixotic color-changes and dynamic shading constantly add to listener's pleasure. [In the 3rd Concerto] the solo entry, with its rhythmic snap, is arresting...the darkly eloquent [Adagio] cantilena is superbly caught...and in the finale [Keylin] plays with infectious and captivating insouciance, the fireworks sparkling at every capricious turn, the lightness of his bowing sheer joy. The Naxos recording is first-rate...a genuine bargain."
- GRAMOPHONE (United Kingdom)

"[Keylin's] bow crackles thrillingly in the opening first solo [2nd Concerto], his cantilena throughout is pure and affecting; his passage work, bristling...a grand virtuoso performance that brings the work thrillingly back to life.... He does a more convincing job in this Concerto [3rd Concerto] - with less promising material - than such luminaries as Heifetz, Francescatti and Grumiaux have managed with the more imposing Fourth Concerto or the more ingeniously streamlined Fifth...The invigorating re-creation that the best exponents of the period-instrument movement achieve through artifice and scholarship, Keylin achieves here both simply and naturally. The result, unstudied and sincere on the one hand, and compellingly theatrical on the other, is irresistible. Enthusiastically recommended as a rare virtuoso treat."
- FANFARE (USA)

"Misha Keylin, aged 27 and a laureate of several major competitions, scores a stunning success with these delightful, seldom-heard concertos...[He] gets under the skin of the music with a sound, style and phrasing that recalls the playing of the top yesteryear virtuosos...[The violinist] plays boldly but with consummate control, and his extraordinary instinct for phrase-making and dynamic variety is superb, complementing his lovely, intensely vibrant tone and cogent vibrato usage. This is easily among the top-most violin concerto CDs released so far in 1997, and Keylin is scheduled to record the remaining five concertos."
- THE STRAD (United Kingdom)

"Keylin is an assured and impressive soloist. Every fiddle-fancier will want to savour this [CD]."
- CLASSIC CD (United Kingdom)

"Keylin's technical flair and sureness of tone are heard to best effect in the Third Concerto...[a] poetic quality is realized not only in the breadth of the long first movement but more particularly in the song-like Adagio, which [he] invests with a warm and lyrical poise."
- BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE (United Kingdom)

"Still in his 20s, Russian-born Misha Keylin takes on two of the Paganini-like dragons of the violin repertoire in a most impressive way: Vieuxtemps' neglected Second and Third Concertos. Keylin's playing leaves nothing to chance. Dulcet in tone, elegant in phrasing and superbly secure of intonation, his playing is a match for that of the youthful Itzhak Perlman. One hopes Keylin will record a full Vieuxtemps Concerto cycle...No violinist has felt up to the task...but Keylin obviously has what it takes."
- IN TUNE (Japan)