12 Stradivari

Certainly a unique item for the 2021 holiday season and beyond, 12 Stradivari delivers exactly what it promises: a tour through 12 of the instruments made by Antonio Stradivari. The project was the brainchild of the managing director of the rare violin dealer J&A Beare, who was probably one of the few people who could have pulled this off. He assembled in London violins that had belonged to such figures as Fritz Kreisler, Nathan Milstein, and Ida Haendel. The total value of the group was in the tens of millions of dollars, and one would have liked to hear the insurance officials sighs of relief once all the violins were back in their proper places; some had not been played in decades and had never been recorded until now. The violinist is Janine Jansen, known at first for Baroque repertory but lately exploring Romantic concertos. Here, accompanied by Antonio Pappano and his unerring eye for a popular idea, she plays all encore-type pieces. She apparently had only a short time to acquaint herself with each violin, and this repertory is not really her metier, but she acquits herself well in bringing out the individual characteristics of each instrument. Consider La fontaine dArethuse, from Karol Szymanowskis Myths, Op. 30, where the violin spends time in its upper register; Jansen coaxes from it a startlingly brilliant sound. Other violins are songful, or smoky, or rich at the lower end. The album is connected to a film, Falling for Stradivari, which delves into not only Jansens work but also other aspects of the project. The film may be of the most interest, but the album stands on its own, and Jansen fans, as well as fans of the violin in general, should enjoy it.