THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995               TAG: 9501270096
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E7   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: REVIEWS
SOURCE: Paul Sayegh
                                             LENGTH: Short :   45 lines

VIOLINIST'S CONCERTOS ARE ELEGANT

Violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Vieuxtemps (Denon) - The young Korean violinist Chee-Yun gives elegant, restrained performances of the great Mendelssohn E Minor Concerto and the Concerto No. 5 of Henri Vieuxtemps. Tempos are relaxed, giving the soloist a chance to phrase in a graceful and refined manner. Her tone, though not large, is sweet and her intonation secure. High points of the disc are the cadenza leading into the slow movement of the Mendelssohn and the impassioned second movement of the Vieuxtemps.

R. Strauss, Symphony, Op. 12 and Romance (Denon) - Richard Strauss' early and rarely-played symphony is featured on this new Denon CD by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra under music director Hiroshi Wakasugi. It's not the mature Strauss of the tone poems and operas but is nevertheless a worthwhile resuscitation. Echoes of other composers swirl around the music - Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner chief among them - only to give way periodically to a more characteristic Strauss sound. This is particularly evident in the lovely, slow movement and the Trio of the Scherzo. A Romance for cello and orchestra, beautifully played by Mari Fujiwara, rounds out the disc and captures the young composer further on his way to developing his unique style.

Brahms, Symphony No. 4 and Haydn Variations (Philips) - Brahms registers as a grumpy old man in this recording by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink. The Fourth Symphony, Brahms' last, receives a powerful, rather uninflected reading, in which little is made of the work's contrasts of mood or color. Everything seems to be played at the same grim level of intensity, thus robbing the symphony of its expressive force. In the Haydn Variations, the conductor adopts deliberate tempos that convey strength and determination but no joy or charm - two important aspects of one of Brahms' most engaging compositions. MEMO: To hear excerpts from these recordings, call Infoline at 640-5555 and

enter 6275.

by CNB