6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Chloe Chua: Mozart Violin Concertos album review – teenage prodigy's interpretations are balanced and mature
As Chloe Chua points out in her notes, Mozart's Violin Concertos were written by a teenager – so why shouldn't a teenage violinist do them justice? Chua – joint winner of the junior Menuhin Competition in 2018, aged 11 – was 15 and 16 when she made these recordings. The framework is conventional – there are no great surprises in the tempos, and she is backed by the modern instruments of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, who give an energised but refined performance conducted by Hans Graf. So far, so traditional. And yet Chua consistently holds the attention with interpretations that are notably mature: balanced, considered and never trying too hard. The faster movements having a gentle momentum, the slow ones plenty of space; everything Chua plays has a clean, focused tone, an unfailingly elegant turn of phrase and a quiet wit.
As well as the five concertos we also get three stand-alone movements, two rondos and an adagio – and, most rewardingly, the Sinfonia Concertante, for which Chua is joined by the violist Ziyu He, another Menuhin Competition winner, his mellow-toned lines dovetailing perfectly with hers. Granted, these performances may not stand out dramatically in a very crowded field, but they are certainly worth your time.
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