"Daniel Gaede (b. 1966) is the current concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, a former pupil of Max Rostal and Josef Gingold, which pretty much guarantees his pedigree. He sports a lovely, swift, and polished tone, captured for this recording by the Neumann U47 microphone, the concept′s being to promote a transistor-free audio disc with lifelike sound. Audiophiles may in fact find a warmth to the sonic sheen that alternative, digital recording techniques lack. The program of fifteen pieces ranges from Tchaikovsky′s Melody, Op. 42, No. 3 to Kreisler′s Concerto in C Major, "in the style of Vivaldi." The second largest work, the Scene de Ballet, Op. 100 by Charles-Auguste de Beriot, could easily pass for a Franco-Polish virtuoso vehicle by Wieniawski. Gaede and accompanist Liu linger over Schubert′s Ave Maria with old-world charm. I found Ysaye′s Reve d′enfant sweet; I found Schchedrin′s little In the Style of Albeniz piquant and a bit acerbic. Spanish pieces by Moszkowski and Ponce are characteristic, played in the curt, lithe manner of Heifetz. What I get from the album is a sense of the 19th Century salon, augmented by a few unusual bits of programming, like Hellmesberger′s Romanze, Op. 43, No. 2. The Elgar, Massenet, Drigo, and Schumann works that fill out the recital are typical of Mischa Elman′s saccharinely sentimental recordings."
Gary Lemco

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