Joshua has played a lot of music over the years in a lot of different styles, especially since coming to Sony 10 years ago. This CD is one of his best "classically classical" recordings. At first I thought he showed incredible nerve, writing his own cadenzas for these two concertos, but when I thought about it some more, I had to admit that there is probably no one playing today who could do it better. I have heard Joshua play the Mendelssohn live, and his affection for the piece really shines through. He derives the same fun out of playing it today that he must have felt when he first learned it at age 12. Coupling the Mendelssohn and Beethoven illustrates how well Joshua is able to pair pieces for recording. He works hard, I think, at finding pieces that mate well, as illustrated in his just-released Vivaldi-Tartini recording. Keep working, Josh. You're doing just fine.
Beethoven and Mendelssohn violin concertos
Joshua has played a lot of music over the years in a lot of different styles, especially since coming to Sony 10 years ago. This CD is one of his best "classically classical" recordings. At first I thought he showed incredible nerve, writing his own cadenzas for these two concertos, but when I thought about it some more, I had to admit that there is probably no one playing today who could do it better. I have heard Joshua play the Mendelssohn live, and his affection for the piece really shines through. He derives the same fun out of playing it today that he must have felt when he first learned it at age 12. Coupling the Mendelssohn and Beethoven illustrates how well Joshua is able to pair pieces for recording. He works hard, I think, at finding pieces that mate well, as illustrated in his just-released Vivaldi-Tartini recording. Keep working, Josh. You're doing just fine.