This latest album of violin concertos from Leila Josefowicz is her fifth for Philips. She is now 20 years old and the recording shows that she has developed from a child prodigy into a mature artist. Josefowicz comments about the disc's repertoire, "I was about ten when I first played the Mendelssohn, which makes it one of the first pieces I learned. Since I've grown up with it and lived with it I now feel secure about recording it." And on her playing she says, "For me tone is everything. One uses it in different ways for different composers. And rhythm is also basic, because your heart has rhythm, your breathing has rhythm."

The repertoire of Mendelssohn's ever-popular Violin Concerto in E minor and Glazunov's Violin Concerto in A minor shows off both Josefowicz's lyrical and virtuosic talents in larger works than her previous albums Solo and Bohemian Rhapsodies. Glazunov was strongly influenced by Brahms, but also combined the virtuosity of Rimsky-Korsakov and the utter tunefulness of Tchaikovsky, thus acting as a bridge between the Russian and German traditions. The Valse-scherzo by Tchaikovsky is a lively, sparkling work which acts as a refreshing interlude between the two larger pieces.

Josefowicz has a sympathetic recording partner in conductor Charles Dutoit, with whom she has performed many times.

Each of Josefowicz's albums has won major awards and has gained her a loyal following amongst core classical music lovers. After the success of her Bohemian Rhapsodies, with its modern, alluring imaging, this concertos album needs to continue her positioning as one of the major young artists of this generation.