Plaisirs Illuminés - Works by Veress, Ginastera, Coll, review | Andrew Clements's classical album of the week

The Guardian 0

Patricia Kopatchinskaja/Sol Gabetta/Camerata Bern/Coll
(Alpha)
Violinist Kopatchinskaja gives the remarkable Camerata Bern and cellist Gabetta space to impress in this vivid collection

Though the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja naturally takes centre stage in this thoughtfully constructed collection, the disc is as much a portrait of the remarkable Camerata Bern as it is another showcase for Kopatchinskaja’s dazzling virtuosity. Two of the pieces here – Sándor Veress’s dutifully neoclassical Musica Concertante, for 12 strings, and Francisco Coll’s double concerto for violin and cello, Les Plaisirs Illuminés – were composed for the Camerata, while Alberto Ginastera’s brooding Concerto per Corde fits nicely alongside the Veress, with which it shares a clear stylistic heritage going back to Bartók; both string works are played with remarkable finesse and precision, without a conductor.