Lalo - Symphonie espagnole (1996)/ Vieuxtemps - Violin concerto No. 5

"Chang's Vieuxtemps is strikingly good. She handles the high drama (mostly rhetoric) of the first two movements with ease. (The alternative approach, a four-handkerchief peroration of the extended leaps and scales, used to be a favorite party joke of Heifetz's.) When Chang arrives at the adagio, coincidentally the appearance of the only great tune in the concerto, her playing ignites. The soaring high note that announces the finishing dash is a masterpiece: brilliantly sharp, graded dynamically from mezzo forte to fortissimo, and brushed at the end with a bow of steel. In Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, Chang is perfect, as usual. My only subtractive comments concern her phrasing: it lacks rhythmic zest, particularly in the Intermezzo where she holds over phrase endings that should end with a wink rather than a nod. On the whole, though, Chang and Dutoit are an extremely dynamic combination." (Robert J. Sullivan, ClassicalNet)