By good fortune Naxos have chosen a splendid player to introduce us to Nos. 2 and 3. The Russian artist, Misha Keylin, emigrated to the USA at the age of nine and by 15 was already a soloist at Carnegie Hall. His timbre is rich, with a duskily subtle control of colour, his technique impeccable, and there is the kind of Slavonic flair that can bring such lightweight but masterly concertos fully to life. Moreover, as the opening ritornello of the Second Concerto immediately demonstrates, Burkh’s accompaniments with the leonine Janacek Philharmonic are extremely vivid and supportive, polished too; and how gracefully they play the fetching secondary lyrical theme. The Andante brings another fine melody, which Keylin phrases most enticingly, in a heartfelt but never cloying manner. The finale is just as graceful, with the histrionics ever tasteful, and in the cadenza, as elsewhere, Keylin’s touches of rubato, his quixotic colour-changes and dynamic shading constantly add to the listener’s pleasure.
The Third Concerto opens with a throbbing, spirited tutti which the conductor, Dennis Burkh, handles with aplomb. The solo entry, with its rhythmic snap, is arresting and has an exciting, Paganini-like progress and a dainty secondary theme. The Adagio is a darkly eloquent cantilena which is superbly caught here: the orchestra’s response is properly passionate. In the finale, marked con delicatezza, the soloist launches into a scintillating rondo, with attractive contrasting episodes. Keylin plays this with infectious and captivating insouciance, the fireworks sparkling at every capricious turn, the lightness of his bowing sheer joy. Again the orchestral ritornellos have matching spirit. In short one cannot conceive that these two thoroughly diverting concertos could be given a more auspicious CD debut.
The Naxos recording is first-rate, with a nice concert-hall ambience, and a realistic balance (no solo scratchiness from unduly close microphones). A genuine bargain.'