This second offering from Nicola Benedetti, BBC Young Musician 2004, is centred, like her first disc (DG, 6/05), on a major concerto. Then it was Szymanowski’s First, with which she had become closely associated; this time she takes on an even more formidable challenge – the Mendelssohn. I said last year: ‘She already displays the temperament, concentration and imagination of a great artist in the making, quite apart from her virtuoso technique.’ Her account of the Mendelssohn confirms that.

The outer movements, taken faster than usual, have a lightness, sparkle and rhythmic resilience that is enhanced by the exceptionally transparent playing of the Academy under composer-conductor James MacMillan, bringing out the beauty and refinement of Mendelssohn’s orchestration. Not that Benedetti misses the poetry in her search for brilliance. For example, the key moment in the first movement where the violin has a downward sweeping arpeggio leading to the second subject, has an ecstatic refinement and purity that makes one catch the breath, while the central Andante is taken at a nicely flowing tempo, tenderly expressive with no hint of sentimentality.

Her performance of the Mozart Adagio has similar qualities – it’s a relatively romantic approach but in no way self-indulgent – and the K373 Rondo brings more sparkle in her playing. The orchestration of the Schubert Serenade is more controversial, an arrangement that sounds rather old-fashioned but presumably it’s a favourite encore piece. The first stanza is taken simply, with increasing elaboration for the violin as the great melody is repeated.

From Ayrshire, written for her by MacMillan, makes a delightful pendant. It is in two movements, the much longer first an extended cantilena with hints of Scottish folksong. It prompts Benedetti to some passionate playing, inspired by melodic lines geared to show off her special qualities. The second movement is a brisk and brilliant pay-off that again shows the magic and sparkle in the violinist’s playing. Discs like this, containing a mixed bag of items, often fail to hit the mark. There’s no chance of that here with such a positive and characterful young artist. Excellent sound.