Music: Bartok Violin Concerto No. 2

At 28, Gil Shaham has survived the hazards of prodigyhood to become the outstanding American violinist of his generation. His forthright, incisive playing can be heard at its youthful peak in this remarkable new recording (which also includes Bartok’s First and Second Rhapsodies). Shaham’s soaring interpretation, at once fiery and nobly lyrical, is a near perfect realization of a modern masterpiece; Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony provide lucid support.

–By Terry Teachout