Dvorak: Violin Concerto in A minor / Legends Op 59

"Tognetti's tone is clean, rather than fruity with vibrato. His reading of the first movement...is marked by a clean attack to bring out the freshness of imagination so typical of Dvorak...The Slavonic dance of the finale is done with exceptional lightness and sparkle with beautifully sprung rhythms"
Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine August 2010

"In his first recording as a soloist for Bis, violinist Richard Tognetti turns in a splendid, sprightly and deeply felt performance of Dvorák's Violin Concerto in A minor. With his clean but sweet one, ample but focused vibrato and impeccable technique, Tognetti delivers a performance near the top of its class, easily surpassing Perlman's overly opulent version and challenging even Josef Suk's all but definitive version. Joined by trombonist turned conductor Christian Lindberg - alert and engaging - and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra - tight but relaxed - Tognetti's performance may introduce a new generation to this delightful if underrated work. As always with Bis, the digital sound is crisp, clear and deep." (AllMusic.com)

Dvorák began to compose his Violin Concerto in 1879 and dedicated it to the great violinist Joseph Joachim. While waiting to finalise the concerto Dvorák composed Legends, a cycle of ten pieces for two pianos, which he shortly afterwards orchestrated.

Performing these two works are the acclaimed Australian violinist Richard Tognetti, as soloist in the concerto, and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Christian Lindberg. The same players have teamed up before on disc, namely on Nordic Showcase, an anthology of works for chamber orchestra. In the reviews of that disc, Tognetti's performance was described by the reviewer in International Record Review as 'music-making at a truly exalted level … the most enraptured and heartfelt rendering of the inexplicably neglected Svendsen Romance that I have ever heard.'