Haydn's instrumental concertos represent only a relatively small part of his output, and were mostly written when the composer was still finding his mature style....

Haydn's instrumental concertos represent only a relatively small part of his output, and were mostly written when the composer was still finding his mature style. The Double Concerto, composed in 1756, is not an especially profound work, although its association with Haydn's frustrated affair with Therese Keller is touchingly revealed in the intimate and expressive Adagio, where Csaba and Gothoni, sympathetically accompanied by the strings of the Kuhmo Virtuosi, create an expressive atmosphere that vividly conveys the music's special emotional significance. Canino uses a harpsichord for his performance with Accardo and the ECO, and that instrument's relatively bright tone suits the clear textures of the score particularly well. Nevertheless, subtle balance between both piano and violin, and soloists and orchestra make Csaba's and Gothoni's elegant and stylishly phrased account immensely engaging.

Mendelssohn's youthful D minor Concerto for violin, piano and strings was composed in 1823 and shows the boy composer's delight in sheer virtuosity and abounding melodic invention. In this piece, Csaba and Gothoni play with flair and sensitivity to realize the music's varied dramatic content, sample the affecting warmth and lyrical poetry in the second movement or the sparkling agility in the concerto's overtly exuberant finale. Kremer and Argerich offer even greater expressive fluency and flamboyance, but Csaba's and Gothoni's version, which effectively places the soloists at the front of the texture, will have wide appeal for its comparably arresting blend of broad lyricism and effervescent technical brilliance.

-- Gramophone [1/1995]