Sibelius: Violin Concerto - Karelia Suite

SIBELIUS Violin Concerto1. Karelia Suite. The Swan of Tuonela. Valse lyrique, op. 96a. Valse triste, op. 44/1. Andante festivo, JS 34b. Finlandia • Andrew Davis, cond; 1Jennifer Pike (vn); Bergen PO • CHANDOS 5134 (SACD: 78:24) Here it is; the recording of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto I’ve always wanted. Ironically, though, it’s not either of the two I’ve been wishing and waiting for, which would be ones by James Ehnes and Julia Fischer. No, this one comes out of left field as a complete surprise from a little-recorded violinist, Jennifer Pike, whose acquaintance I’ve made only once before when she joined the Doric String Quartet for a performance of Chausson’s Concert for Piano, Violin, and String Quartet on a Chandos CD I reviewed in 36:6. In fact, it was Pike’s contribution to that performance that redeemed the Doric Quartet for me, after it had batted out on three previous occasions. I’ve not heard Pike’s handful of other recordings, which include sonatas by Brahms, Schumann,