Măcelaru & Faust by Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté, Shostakovich, Brahms, Alkaen (2025/2025), Musiikinjohto Cristian Măcelaru, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

For Isabelle Faust only the art matters, not the trappings. She plays with aplomb, focus, deep feeling—that’s how the violinist enthrals the audience, particularly with Shostakovich’s Second Violin Concerto, which, seriously ill in 1967, he »squeezed out note by note, with difficulty«. Sharply reduced, introverted music that concentrates completely on the violin. Music that inquires into where we are going and why.