Roughly contemporaneous with the second and finer of Bartók’s two violin concertos, Bloch’s Concerto is similar in scale and in some small respects (the reuse in the finale of material from the first movement) similar indesign too. But while Bartók’s masterpiece reflects the influence of indigenous musics from the composer’s own native region or thereabouts, Bloch’s summons tunes borrowed from his adopted land, or more specifically the American Indians. The Jewish element is undoubtedly there, though less prominent than in, say, Schelomo or the two other works included on this useful collection, Baal Shem (1923), named after the founder of the Chasidic movement, and the Suite hébraïque (1952), written for a Jewish Covenant Club.

The later work is the more majestic in tone, the earlier one the more intense, and both are played with warmth and obvious affection by Zina Schiff who also contributes an intelligent booklet-note. The orchestral contribution sounds more dutiful than inspired (compare Jindrich Rohan on Supraphon in the Suite), likewise in the Concerto where José Serebrier – this is his second recording of the Concerto – is attentive to instrumental detail but falls short in bringing tutti passages fully to life. Schiff herself plays very well but occasionally overdoes the expressive slides, which in context sound more cloying than intense. That said, the performances more than pass muster, as do the recordings. Still, Hyman Bress (on the Rohan disc) would be my first choice for a coupling of the Concerto and the Suite. As to the Concerto on its own, Joseph Szigeti (under either Munch on Pearl or Naxos, or Mengelberg on Andante) is uniquely authoritative, a true benchmark. His performance “speaks” in a way that no one else’s quite does though Menuhin (under Paul Kletzki, EMI) and Sherban Lupu (under Ian Hobson, Zephyr) are also well worth hearing.