Charlie Siem is an highly accomplished violinist who displays his considerable talents to great advantage in this, his first recording with the LSO under Andrew Gourlay. The programme is an interesting one comprising the Bruch, which is given an elegant performance full of sweetness and strength, the Wienawski,which is a virtuoso tour de force negotiated with ease by Siem, and,as a fill-up,a very interesting work by Siem's compatriot - Indeed, they are apparently related -Ole Bull. I found much to enjoy in this short work which has a very individual voice from a composer little known outside Norway.
Norway has produced some very fine Violin Virtuosi and we are lucky today to have artists like Siem and Henning Kraggerud around on the international circuit. I hope Siem in the future will explore more interesting repertoire from Norway, perhaps Halvorsen's concerto would be a possibility as well as the more established favourites. However this new album is very fine indeed and I look forward to future recordings from this talented young man.