Violinist Arabella Steinbacher, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Gustavo Gimeno CD Review, June 15th, 2025

On April 25th, 2025, an album was published featuring one of the most celebrated works in the repertoire Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Violinist Arabella Steinbacher and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno, are in the spotlight on this production from the Dutch label Pentatone.

German violinist Arabella Steinbacher is one of the prominent names in contemporary performance art, a 43-year-old musician, laureate of major international competitions, a disciple of Ivry Gitlis (himself a student of George Enescu), and a favored soloist of some of the most important European and American orchestras.

Arabella Steinbacher has been recording for the Pentatone label since 2009, and her discography, like her list of awards, is extensive. Here she is now, recording for the second time in her career an iconic work of the violin repertoire Beethoven's Concerto. As the critic from Classical Review also noted, this second version is faster; however, that does not necessarily mean that the musical discourse is more compelling, engaging, or cohesive. It is a version attentive to detail, yet it seems to lose sight of the whole and of the overall meaning of this magnificent music.