Yossif Ivanov, Royal Flemish PO/ Pinchas SteinbergAmbroisie AM 175 ***

The young Belgian violinist Yossif Ivanov (born 1986) here tackles two key 20th-century concertos, Bartók’s Second of 1938 and Shostakovich’s First, which was written in 1948 but kept in a drawer until after Stalin’s death, and not performed in public until 1955. Ivanov’s performances are in the grand manner, full and luscious in tone (with the violin placed very up-front in the recording), commanding in technique, directly emotional in expressive intent, often headstrong in manner. The performances, impressive in their way, cast both pieces firmly in a romantic mode. The orchestral playing under Pinchas Steinberg is as full-blooded as the solo playing. www.naive classique.com