Nemanja Radulović: Prokofiev Album Review – Thrills and Spills from a Brave Violinist | classical music

THere is a bold freshness about Nemanja Radulović’s playing that makes this generously filled disc of Prokofiev particularly rewarding. Over the course of 86 minutes, he played the Second Violin Concerto with the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Santo Matías Rovalli, a pair of poorly performed sonatas and a collection of original works and transcriptions with pianist Laure Favre-Kahn.

The concerto receives a supportive and careful reading from Ruffalli, who is happy to play second violin to the star role. Radulović indulges in the attack, his bold attack and high tonal work nearly upsetting the apple cart in the oompah-pah finale. The same courageous commitment pays off elsewhere: in Heifetz’s jubilant arrangement of Gavotte from the Classical Symphony, for example, or in the thorny Love March of Three Oranges.

By restraining himself, Radulović fosters a good sense of dialogue with Johan Dalén in his neglected Violin Sonata. The Solo Violin Sonata benefits from a similar combination of poetry and restraint. However, it offers thrills and wonderful spills in its ballet selections. The masks of Romeo and Juliet have enormous conceit; There is a fragmentary account of Tybalt’s death, in which Favre was accompanied by a cheek-to-cheek; And a trio of percussionists bring an irresistible flavor to the Grand Waltz from Cinderella.

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