Benjamin Schmid is one of today’s most versatile and
exciting modern violinists. In addition to his career
as a classical violinist, he is also a successful and
in-demand jazz interpreter who regularly performs
with major jazz musicians like Biréli Lagrène and
Georg Breinschmid. It is all the more interesting
to hear recordings of two absolute standard violin
works – Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor
and Bruch’s Violin Concerto, op. 1 – from a violinist
with such a background. The program is rounded out
by a seldom-heard work: Robert Schumann’s Fantasie
op. 131, which the composer wrote at the request of
Joseph Joachim.