Two Souls. That is how this CD is called with two perhaps less well-known, but nevertheless beautiful violin concertos from Armenian and American soil respectively. Kachaturjan's Violin Concerto (also known as Flute Concerto) is a beautiful combination of solo virtuosity and lyricism, framed by the orchestra's circus music. Barber's Concert is more vocal and elegiac. The only fast part, the virtuoso
… finale, takes up only a fraction of the total playing time. The album title Two Souls also refers to the violinist Mikhail Simonyan, who puts down an impressive debut for DGG here. Mikhail Simonyan partly grew up in the US, while on his paternal side he has Armenian roots. As an encore, the justly popular Adagio for Strings by Barber sounds here. (HJ)more
