Warm, romantic Barber and icy, strange Sibelius – these two 20th-century concertos could seem poles apart, but here find common ground. Renaud Capuçon’s playing is as big-boned and golden-toned as ever, so it’s no surprise that the Sibelius moves towards the Barber, rather than the other way round.
Capuçon makes the start of the Sibelius a yearning oration, each note carefully placed, with the occasional little slide. It’s a meaty interpretation that’s matched by Daniel Harding’s conducting: the big moments thrillingly punchy, the brass scything around the orchestra. The only bit that doesn’t really work is early in the finale, when the violin scurries off into a virtuosic rollercoaster: Capuçon’s playing feels a little too weighty for this episode of skittishness to make sense.
