New Generation Artists

Next up of the free covermount cd's from BBC Music magazine circa 2001. This one is a fine recital by members of the BBC New Generation Artists scheme, or at least artists who were current on the scheme back then. I think young performers get co-opted onto the scheme for a period of two or three years, during which they get recital exposure on BBC Radio 3 and occasionally some of them on these magazine cd's.This one features three fine performances. First up is violinist Elisabeth Batiashvili playing Partita No 1 in B minor for solo violin by Bach. Her recording career hasn't really taken off since her spell as an NGA, I think because she has chosen a sensible work / life balance, I believe she is now a mother for instance. She is too talented a performer not to reappear more frequently on disk I'm sure. The second piece features pianist Alexander Melnikov playing Chopin's Piano Sonata No 1 in E minor in an accomplished performance. Closing out the disk are the Belcea Quartet playing Debussy's only String Quartet in a performance that I think was later released commercially as part of their debut album. If I remember my previous post re. the Belceas disk of Brahms, I think I questioned the fact they seemed to have gone quiet on the recording front. I now believe that too is down to motherhood and that they are now active again.