Romance of the Violin

A compilation of selections drawn from previously released recordings, The Romantic Violin not to be confused with Romance of the Violin on Sony celebrates Joshua Bell's ten-year stint with Decca, offering a "greatest hits" collection focusing on the photogenic virtuoso's early career. Bell's plush tone and expressive touch animate the slow movements from concertos by Bruch, Barber, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky, while violin favorites such as Paganini's Cantabile, Kreisler's Romance, and Massenet's Thaïs "Méditation" glow with Bell's soulful lyricism. More enlivening selections reveal his sparkling technique in showstoppers like the Rondo from Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole and a Brahms Hungarian Dance. With accompaniment provided by such classical luminaries as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Neville Marriner, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, the album presents a fine summary of the budding career of a great violinist and also serves as an enjoyable introduction to the highpoints of the Romantic violin repertoire, one that is likely to tempt classical music newcomers to seek out complete recordings of the core works excerpted here.