This two-disc set sees the Norwegian violinist straying beyond the relative comfort zone of ‘Nordic Noir’ (11/17) in order to explore a more varied musical landscape. For evidence, look no further than Samuelsen’s supercharged, energy-sapping rendition of ‘Knee Play 2’ from Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach – coruscating repeating patterns leaping off the soundboard as if fingers were treading on hot coals – or the nervous, agitated ostinato figurations found in Christian Badzura’s 847. Samuelsen’s Bach isn’t bad either, as heard in her performance of the Chaconne from the composer’s D minor Partita, BWV1004, full of sweeping parabola-like shapes and nuanced shadings; or the almost lilting motion she imparts to the Presto movement from the Sonata in G minor, BWV1001.

Some listeners will no doubt regard these Bach moments as high points on an album whose music occasionally flatters to deceive in terms of its emollient efficaciousness. Still, if the set’s chocolate-box contents may appear too saccharine to many, one would be hard-pressed not to admire the hand-crafted precision and meticulousness of these musical confections. Standout moments include Pēteris Vasks’s haunting Lonely Angel, high-altitude solo lines against a backdrop of gently rising and falling string accompaniment and affect-laden glissandos; Jóhann Jóhannsson’s tender Good Night, Day, a salutary reminder of a career cut short in full bloom; or the sombre, valedictory mood of Peter Gregson’s quiescent Lullaby for solo violin. Adequately supported by the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under Jonathan Stockhammer, there’s more to the glossy surface than meets the eye.