Nikolaj Znaider’s high-calibre artistry is tellingly exemplified by the second subject of Mendelssohn’s first movement (3’09” into track 1) where the rise and fall of the phrasing, its yielding plasticity, realises every vestige of lyricism inherent in the music. Zubin Mehta, ever the sensitive accompanist, supports his soloist with well-judged tempi and by drawing some mellifluous woodwind lines from the orchestra. The slow movement is a soft-focus affair, wistfully turned and with gently emotive slides.

Znaider and his collaborators are keenly aware that this most intimate of Romantic concertos is full of implied questions and answers – the way the woodwinds state their theme at 4’59”, the soloist’s multi-stopped response, and the full orchestral response after that. The dialogic element extends to the finale’s opening allegretto, the allegro that follows well paced, cleanly articulated and with Mehta and his players again in alert attendance. The spirit is absolutely right, sublime busyness that never loses composure.

An excellent booklet interview prepared by the writer Eric Wen reveals that Znaider views the Beethoven Concerto as the violin repertoire’s ‘bible’, its ‘ultimate challenge’, opinions that got me thinking: why do so many modern interpreters treat the work as if it’s some sort of holy edifice? Either that or, like Mutter and Vengerov, they feel the need to over-interpret, as if fearful that its sparse contours will expose them as being short on ideas. Znaider avoids both extremes and comes up with a workable – and generally rewarding – ‘traditional’ middle course, expressive and unostentatious, with Kreisler’s magisterial cadenza the first movement’s interpretative high-point.

The slow movement is as beautifully played as any I’ve heard in recent years, warm and serene but never precious, while the finale, though skilfully despatched, is a little too laid-back for my liking. That is my one minor reservation about this otherwise fine performance, a tendency to play safe – something that you rarely feel with Kremer and Zehetmair or, if this particular coupling appeals, Joshua Bell, though Znaider’s tone is sweeter than theirs. Mehta again proves a considerate accompanist and the sound is well balanced. For most of the time you’d never guess that it was recorded live.