On this 2013 Decca release, critically acclaimed violinist Julia Fischer and pianist Milana Chernyavska present a delightful recital of showpieces by Spanish virtuoso, Pablo de Sarasate. The music's fireworks give the program a strong appeal, and Fischer's technical brilliance is well-matched to all of Sarasate's demands, though her expressive intensity and soulful lyricism consistently carry the album. She pulls off all manner of flashy effects, including glissando harmonics, flageolets, pizzicati on the fingerboard, extended passages of sixths and octaves, flying spiccato bowing, and everything else in the violinist's bag of tricks, and there is never a missed opportunity for showmanship.

Anyone interested in stunning violin artistry should buy this amazing disc straightaway. It’s one of the best things I’ve heard in a long time. I hadn’t come across Tianwa Yang’s Sarasate series for Naxos before but I will certainly search out the other discs as a matter of some urgency. Her playing is simply extraordinary - no wonder she’s been described as “A Pride of China”. This isn’t one of those flashy, hollow, 20-notes-a-second recitals that quite frankly drive me to distraction.