Bolcom: Violin Concerto, Fantasia concertante, & Symphony No. 5

Album review

The talents of violinist Sergiu Luca are particularly well-suited to the violin concerto of American composer William Bolcom. Luca is renowned for the impressive array of styles with which he is comfortable and widely recorded. Bolcom's concerto juxtaposes an equally impressive number of styles -- from jazz fiddling to neo-Classicism -- and switches gears very quickly. The second movement is beautifully executed, and the interplay between the solo violin and the offstage trumpet is haunting. Most successful is the playful and exuberant third movement, which Luca presents with unabashed bravura. His playing is filled with risk-taking, some successful and some not, but always exciting.
The performance of the Fantasia Concertante, originally commissioned by conductor James Levine for the Salzburg Mozarteum, is quite enjoyable. The orchestra's sound is as clean and refined as if it were indeed playing Mozart, and the solo viola and cello parts are of an exceptionally high caliber. Likewise, the Fifth Symphony is pure precision playing ranging in style from chorales to the foxtrot; each movement is successfully evocative of its title. The liner notes, written by Bolcom himself, are especially helpful for the guided listening of this highly programmatic symphony.

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