Opera in miniature, Pictures at an Exhibition for violin and piano, French ‘grand salon’ ambience—made in Italy. It is challenging to find the find words descriptive of Ottorino Respighi’s oeuvre recently recorded on Genuin by Ilona Then-Bergh and pianist Michael Schäfer. There can be no doubt as to their wide stylistic range, rich tonal colors calling Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy to mind, and the sheer quality of the works in terms of compositional style. Is it going too far to say the Italian composer was too successful during his lifetime? He has definitely not been given the recognition which a master composer of his standing deserves. After inserting this CD in a player for the first time, listeners will find it hard to believe that this is the inaugural disc of the first complete recording cycle of Respighi’s works for violin. But as luck would have it, you can listen to these first-rate, technically accomplished and musically intuitive musicians over and over again while waiting for the next release in this series...