Album: Berg/Beethoven. Violin Concertos - Faust/Abbado/Orchestra Mozart (Harmonia Mundi)

The unorthodox pairing of Berg's anguished memorial to Manon Gropius and Beethoven's earthy, ecstatic concerto casts a curious spell in this thoughtful performance from Isabelle Faust and Orchestra Mozart under Claudio Abbado.

Both works chafe at the conventions of the concerto form. Faust's chaste, pale sound is offset against stained-glass woodwind and serene brass in the Berg, while bassoonist Guilhaume Santana is a glamorous dancing partner in the Beethoven.