Now relegated by the dictates of musical fashion and Wagnerian hegemony to brief or absent entries in reference books, Henri Vieuxtemps (1820‑81) has been routinely ignored by fiddle players and (if they’ve heard of him) concert promoters. But if his concertos were good enough for Ysaÿe (Vieuxtemps’s greatest pupil), Kreisler, Heifetz and Perlman, then they should be good enough for the rest of us.

The seven concertos have all been recorded before (the two best, Nos 4 and 5, several times) but are presented here complete for the first time, each work played by a different young, unknown virtuoso. That in itself is worth a few cheers; but when almost all the performances, in uniformly excellent sound, challenge, if not supplant, those already available, then the enterprising Fuga Libera label can feel justifiably proud of its vision and execution.

Vineta Sareika has, arguably, the most difficult task with the extravagantly taxing First Concerto. In its opening movement, lasting 22'47", Vieuxtemps hurls his entire arsenal at the soloist after what must be the grandest opening of any violin concerto (at its premiere in 1840 the public applauded before Vieuxtemps had shouldered his instrument). Sareika surmounts every challenge in thrilling style (more so than Paul Rosenthal on Biddulph), setting the tone for the whole set.

The first three concertos are, to be sure, heavily indebted to Paganini and melodically not so far removed from the bel canto of Donizetti and Bellini, but Vieuxtemps’s lively orchestration, his sure-footed construction and lyrical grace are thoroughly his own. Marginally, I prefer Hrachya Avanesyan and Nikita Boriso-Glebksy in Concertos Nos 2 and 3 to the formidable Misha Keylin (playing both – Naxos, 12/97). The adventurously constructed Concertos Nos 4 and 5, famously revived by Heifetz (he recorded No 5, the “Grétry”, twice), are stunningly well played by the sweet-toned Lorenzo Gatto and Yossif Ivanov respectively, even if neither quite matches Heifetz’s level of supercharged intensity. There is little to choose between them and Viviane Hagner’s tremendous 2009 recordings of both (Hyperion, 7/10). Concertos Nos 6 and 7 are weaker, less virtuoso works.

Jolente De Maeyer is a fine advocate of No 6 but I wondered if Harriet Langley is quite as in love with the genre as her peers. Gérard Poulet’s 1997 recording (now on Naïve) of both works has the edge, especially in the attractive Tarantella/Habanera finale of No 7.

This handsomely presented fold-out set of discs with its detailed booklet (attached to same and in French, Dutch and English) comes warmly recommended to every lover of bravura violin works with a sweet tooth.