Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is the quintessential national virtuoso showpiece, but other Russian composers have contributed strongly to the genre of works for solo violin and orchestra. Tchaikovsky’s student Taneyev, who rose to eminence in Moscow, wrote a memorable Suite de Concert that followed the model of the Baroque suite while infiltrating it with warm lyricism and brilliant variations. Earlier, Rimsky-Korsakov had written a Fantasia on Two Russian Themes that explored virtuoso potential in a concerto form that is both seductive and vibrant.

The Ukraine-based Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra, together with its artistic director Dmitry Yablonsky, has presented several recordings of works by 20th-century composers. Their recording of Valentin Silvestrov’s Moments of Memory II, The Messenger – 1996 and Silent Music (8573772) was nominated for an International Classical Music Award (ICMA), and described by Fanfare as ‘beautiful, sensitive performances that make a strong impression even though they never raise their voices’.