“

it’s a while since I’ve enjoyed a new recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto as much as this!

Andrew McGregor, February 2014

“

Of special note here is a gripping interpretation of the Violin Concerto by Jennifer Pike. The concerto’s technical hurdles are surmounted consummately, but, even more important, Pike delves into the substance of the music to project its distinctive traits of emotional expression. The chill rhapsodising start gives way to shifts of darkness and light… Intensity, strength and malleability of tone, breadth of line and firmly focused bravura coalesce in the central Adagio and in the fearsome virtuosity of the finale, always
underpinned by secure, stylistically aware musicianship.

Geoffrey Norris, March 2014

“

This is an exceptionally fine reading of a testing concerto from a young British prodigy who has been unfussily maturing into a compelling violinist. She catches the sinuous ethereality of Sibelius’s vision, and the loneliness as well, but there’s plenty of passion where it matters and tremendous technical skill. The Bergen Philharmonic and Andrew Davis also offer a kind of Your Hundred Best Sibelius Tunes, including Karelia and Finlandia.

Richard Morrison, April 2014

“

Here is an absolute whopper of a disc from Chandos. If you are an addict of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, you might already possess many recorded versions. Do not doubt and do not hesitate to add this one to your collection. Jennifer Pike plays it with all the urgency, passion and immediacy of the young woman she is. In the great slow movement, this translates into a kind of molten intensity which – at the end, as the violin curls skyward while the magnificent strings of the Bergen Philharmonic softly pulse away – will break your heart… Get it now.

Michael Tumelty, March 2014

“

A brilliant performance from a bright young star of the violin… Jennifer Pike, one of the finest violinists performing today. She brings flair, passion and a burgeoning maturity to Sibelius’s great concerto.

March 2014