The Silver Violin

(Decca)

I don't think it would be inaccurate to describe Ms Benedetti's approach to recording as aiming for crossover without compromise. So it is easy to see this disc following the Oscar-winning look of The Artist and nodding towards the popularity of a certain Irishman's golden flute, but, like the lady herself, its beauty is more than skin-deep. The link to the silver screen is obvious in the opening choice of John Williams's theme for Schindler's List but thereafter the journey is through repertoire that has shaped the way we expect movie music to sound alongside pieces that have actually been used on soundtracks. So a complete performance of Korngold's concerto with the Bournemouth Symphony under Karabits sits comfortably alongside music by Mahler, Shostakovich and Howard Shore, and we hear Benedetti the chamber musician, with her regular collaborators, as well as in her more familiar guise as soloist. No-one is being condescended to here, and the collection will doubtless tick boxes on the playlists of a wide range of radio stations. It may be commercial, but it is also very clever – and quite beautifully played.