Josefowicz claims that when she first encountered the last movement of Bartok’s First Violin Sonata, she had never heard anything so exciting in her life. And I can honestly say that she still conveys that excitement in her playing, which is violinistic fitness personified, lithe and speedy, youthfully dynamic and ably – if not entirely idiomatically – supported by John Novacek. The closing pages would raise the roof at any concert and although I would still incline towards Isabelle Faust in the first two movements, Josefowicz runs her close in the finale.
The rest of the programme is more variable. Falla’s Suite populaire witnesses a certain finesse, though with less tonal colour than seems appropriate. Novacek’s accompaniment to “Nana” (the fourth piece) is quietly hypnotic and Philips thoughtfully provide English texts for all six songs. Josefowicz likens the slow movement of Grieg’s Sonata to being told “an old tale in a passionate way”, a spot-on metaphor, though her own playing falls short of narrative eloquence. That reservation also applies to the Messiaen, which demands rather less in the way of sensuousness and rather more in the way of expressive inflexion.
Josefowicz is an accomplished player, always confident, invariably forceful and obviously intelligent. Her annotations reveal endearing respect for various teachers and influences, though I feel that she has yet to take their most profound lessons to heart. Philips’s trendy gate-fold booklet is awkward to handle and almost impossible to read. '