This is a generous collection of sugar-plum works for violin and orchestra, played with uninhibited romanticism by the rich-toned Udagawa. You might count her playing rather old-fashioned in the way she allows herself the occasional portamento, but what matters is her passionate commitment, which is clear in every note. The Glazunov receives a heartfelt performance which is just as compelling as the virtuoso accounts listed above. In the finale she may not offer quite such bravura fireworks as Heifetz (RCA) or Perlman (EMI), but with more open sound the result is just as persuasive in its lilting way. The violin is balanced close, but not so close as Perlman or Heifetz, and there is far more space round the orchestral sound, which is full and warm to match the soloist.
It is valuable to have all three of the haunting pieces which Tchaikovsky called Souvenir d'un lieu cher. The ''Meditation'' and ''Melodie'' have been recorded far more frequently than the central Scherzo, and this is currently the only complete recording of all three in Glazunov's orchestral arrangements. The Chausson Poeme is warmly convincing if a little heavy-handed, the Sarasate Romanze dances delightfully, and only in the final Saint-Saens Caprice does Udagawa's playing sound a little effortful in its virtuosity, though that is in part the fault of the Ysa e transcription.'