Sinfonia Concertante

For sheer energy and exuberance--to say nothing of the warmth they project in this performance and the elegance that marks their playing throughout--Cho-Liang Lin and Jaime Laredo have an unusually close and solid partnership. Because both are such strong, outgoing musicians, they are unusually interesting as well. The detail-work is exceptionally fine, the ensemble breathtakingly clean. Raymond Leppard and the English Chamber Orchestra support the effort with playing of real symphonic weight, giving a big-boned, muscular account of the score, yet one that is wonderfully suave. The recording is vivid and packs an extraordinary punch, even if it is a little bass-heavy. --Ted Libbey