Spectrum

In his label debut for Warner Classics, Benjamin Beilman delves into the romantic and modern violin repertoire, playing keystone works by Schubert, Janáček, Stravinsky, and Kreisler. For Schubert’s Violin Sonata in A Major, D. 574, the American soloist speaks through his instrument with tenderness, capturing the restless beauty of the score. In the “Divertimento” from Stravinsky’s ballet Le baiser de la fée, Beilman brings out the exotic rhythmic and melodic writing for which the composer was so famous. But it’s the huge variety of regional flavors and emotions that makes Spectrum an aptly named demonstration of Beilman's musical fluency.