The Taiwanese Nai-Yuan Hu is yet another of those extraordinarily talented oriental violinists who have come to the West to show us just how the romantic masterpieces of the concert repertoire should be played. Now in his thirties, and with much performance experience behind him, he emerges on this CD as a virtuoso in the best sense of that word, with uncommon lyrical gifts, who can shape phrases with a sense of gentle rapture and coax his violin to produce the most lovely sounds. He could hardly have chosen a more suitable coupling for this debut, for it takes both performances into direct competition with those of Itzhak Perlman (differently coupled), and in a comparison Hu by no means comes out second best. Perlman may at times be more dazzling (and in the passagework he achieves a stronger profile), but his preference for a very forward spotlight is a distinct minus point in a pair of warm-hearted concertos where the intimacy of feeling shared between soloist and orchestra is better caught by a more natural balance. Even though the Bruch was specifically written for Sarasate, neither of these concertos impresses primarily by its brilliance. Here both gain from the understanding partnership attained by Hu with Schwarz and his excellent Seattle orchestra within a kindly acoustic.
The Goldmark opens strongly in the orchestra and the violin is immediately songful. At 3'12'' a downward arpeggio that reminds us simultaneously of both the Mendelssohn E minor Concerto and the Brahms makes preparation for the bittersweet secondary theme (3'42''), which from Hu's bow sounds as tenderly beautiful as any in the violin literature. Later in the development (at 6'38'') the ear picks up the composer's fugal tribute to Bach. (Goldmark began his daily routine by playing Bach for half an hour.) Here it is pointed with real style by the Seattle strings. Both orchestra and soloist catch the solemn atmosphere of the Andante to perfection and Goldmark's innocent melody takes wing with gentle radiance. The finale dances charmingly and it is the lightness of touch that captivates, with a notable absence of close-microphoned bow-battering. The rather long cadenza (the composer's own) perhaps has a more spontaneous fiery temperament with Perlman, but there is nothing missing in Hu's less overtly brilliant performance.
Having attended the premiere of Bruch's Second Concerto, Brahms wrote to Simrock: ''Hopefully a law will not be necessary to prevent any more first movements being written as an Adagio. That is intolerable for normal people.'' Bruch's riposte was, ''If I meet with Brahms in heaven, I shall have myself transferred to Hell.'' He could not understand why the popularity of the First Concerto precluded performance of the others, ''which are just as good if not better''. Certainly Hu's superb reading here bears out the composer's evaluation of the D minor Concerto. The ardently simple presentation of the glorious main theme of that maligned Adagio goes right to the heart and the orchestra's bold tutti provides the necessary contrast. However at 3'10'' another, even more spellbinding tune captures the listener, and Hu and Schwarz maintain the concentration through the more rugged central episode to a glorious reprise (8'36'') and beautifully tapered coda.
The second movement, with its hint of a bugle call and passionate recitative for the soloist, reminds us that, when planning the work, Bruch may have had a programme at the back of his mind: a woman searching a battlefield for her lover. At the movement's close the solo horn echoes the bugle's interval of a fifth, from which the finale evolves. The composer's development of his material never flags and neither does the performance, with a passionate response from the orchestral violins to match the soloist's involvement. One again reflects how splendid is the balance between tutti and violin: the engineers of this fine Delos disc are to be congratulated on such excellent judgement. I strongly recommend this record on all counts. I look forward very much to hearing Nai-Yuan Hu at a live concert.'