This CD contains several little-known items and the first of these, the lyrical Adagio in E, was probably written as an alternative to the middle movement of the famous A major Concerto, though why any player should ask for a replacement I cannot imagine. The sprightly Rondo in C must be a replacement for the finale in a concerto by someone else, Mozart not having written one in this key.
Both are well worth hearing. The two double- or triple-concerto fragments are of fascinating promise and it is something of an irritant when such attractive music suddenly breaks off.
The only complete concerto is played with ability and pleasing tone, though Kantorow is a trifle unsteady in one or two places. The orchestra is tightly controlled and the studio acoustic contributes to a clarity that could hardly be bettered. Shumsky's approach on Nimbus is a little more leisurely. He differentiates more clearly between staccato and legato, which I like, but he too has moments of uncertainty and he is less favoured by both the orchestral contribution and the studio acoustic. However, he comes into his own in the big cadenza; you feel he has thrown off all restrictions, and his double and triple stopping is a marvel of assuredness.'