Philippe Graffin the violinist is rather at odds with Philippe Graffin the conductor. The violinist is in complete control of his instrument, is able to draw on all its resources to interpret the music as he sees fit; and earns a special commendation, as in the Adagio of K216, for not smoothing out Mozart’s often edgy phrasing. Not for Graffin an anodyne flow to maintain “the long line”. Instead he achieves both linearity and depth of feeling by tapping the potential for expressive variety inherent in Mozart’s phrase structures. Notes don’t elide meaninglessly in slow movements, nor do they scurry aimlessly in fast passagework.

Nobuko Imai is of similar persuasion, and her rapport with Graffin is arresting. Their playing in the Duos and Sinfonia concertante reveals not only refined technical finish but a just combination of intellectual erudition and emotional involvement. The ingredients are right but the end result falls short of ultimate satisfaction because Graffin doesn’t fully communicate to the musicians his own command of tonal translucency and identification with the music. Control of the orchestra in the outer movements of the Sinfonia concertante often comes close to raggedness; and their performances are short of an expansive bearing that the first, in particular, invites through its marking Allegro maestoso. Strangely, too, Graffin plays down the role of the second violins; and though he balances the wind instruments really well throughout, the string fabric lacks clarity and analysis. Good to very good sound with noticeable variations in transfer levels.