For a work so popular, and so highly favored by record companies, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto hasn't been getting too much attention lately. In any case, great performances are few and far between, but this newcomer certainly belongs on anyone's short list of truly outstanding versions. It has everything: transcendent virtuosity, tons of excitement in the finale, and perhaps most importantly of all, a soloist with both taste and a personal sound that allows her to make the music her own. Today's violin soloists are so well trained that we tend to forget the difference between great technique and great timbre. Fischer has both.

Right from the opening of the first movement her sound positively glows. Partly it's a function of her well-controlled vibrato, and chalk up the rest to perfect intonation. Fischer's double-stops, in a work that's full of them, are so in tune, and so musical, that it's frightening. Her sweetly singing tone makes for a Canzonetta that truly communicates like a song, as if Fischer commanded a genuine human voice and not an instrumental approximation. Yakov Kreizberg has his orchestra in top form, following her every step of the way, and the couplings are equally fine, particularly the eloquently phrased Sérénade.

Ordinarily I don't like mixed programs of orchestral and chamber music, but the Souvenir really belongs in this collection of Tchaikovsky's music for violin, and Kreizberg makes as fine an accompanist at the piano as he does on the podium. In terms of production, this also is one of PentaTone's best. The sound is warm, present, very well balanced, and happily not excessively biased toward the rear channels in SACD format. So if you're looking for a splendid new Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto that offers superior artistic values and excellent SACD surround sonics, this is definitely the one to get. Keep your eye on Fischer; she belongs with artists such as Hillary Hahn and James Ehnes in the front rank of today's rising stars of the violin. [1/17/2007]

--David Hurwitz