Gil Shaham, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez - Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2 / Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2 (1999) CD-Rip

Violin virtuoso Gil Shaham's first-ever collaboration with conductor Pierre Boulez is historic music-making of the highest artistic caliber. In the 27-year-old Shaham, Grammy winning maestro Boulez has found a soloist equally able to deliver the goods on the large and musically free Concerto, as well as the gypsy dance inspired Rhapsodies. Both conductor and soloist received a stellar reception when they performed these works live in concert last December.

In his Bartók recordings, Boulez concentrates on the lyrical and intellectual aspects of the music. Shaham goes along with him very well, and they produce some exquisitely beautiful moments, along with extremely clear renderings of the orchestration. But the peasant earthiness so much a part of Bartók's musical makeup is largely absent from these performances, and when Boulez tries to whip up a rousing climax, the result sounds unconvincing. The late Sir Yehudi Menuhin brings out more aspects of this music, with the composer's student Antal Dorati conducting, as does Isaac Stern. This disc is mostly for those who find Bartók too noisy. --Leslie Gerber