Reger: The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 11

Tanja Becker-Bender, violin; Konzerthausorchester Berlin; Lothar Zagrosek, conductor

Max Reger (1873-1916)
Violin Concerto in A major Op 101 / Two Romances Op 50

Reger is one of those composers more talked about than listened to--caricatured as a prolific writer of organ music with a penchant for dense musical textures. But he certainly wasn't averse to a good tune: the two Romances abound in lush lyricism, while the magnificent A major Violin Concerto shows him continuing in the tradition of the violin concertos of Beethoven and Brahms. An unashamedly symphonic work, it's nearly an hour long--around the same length as the nearly-contemporary Elgar Violin Concerto. No less a figure than Adolf Busch championed it--first performing it when he was just sixteen.
The young German violinist Tanja Becker-Bender, who has already made such an impact in Schulhoff and Paganini, is joined by Lothar Zagrosek and the Berlin Konzerthausorchester for this 11th volume in the Romantic Violin Concerto series--a series that is triumphantly demonstrating how much great music there is out there just waiting to be rediscovered.

Price: $22.98