Paganini & Wolf-Ferrari: Violin Concertos

Violinist Francesca Dego and the impressive Daniele Rustioni offer a pair of glorious Italian-violin concertos. The Paganini no. 1 is the better known, and Dego plays it with an impeccable technique and lashings of imagination—the CBSO make stylish partners. The Violin Concerto by Wolf-Ferrari is the curiosity here, and both soloist and orchestra play it with passion: it has the singing lines of a Puccini aria, but makes some fearsome demands on the soloist, especially high up in the stratosphere. Dega is unfazed and plays it with palpable love.