Among Russian violinists, Nathan Mironovich Milstein was unfairly put in the shade by Jascha Heifetz. Born in Odessa into a middle-class family, Milstein was often compared to Heifetz because they came from a similar violinistic pedigree. This disc finds Milstein playing music that he really loved. He described the Mendelssohn concerto as “a work of genius from the first note to the last”, while of the Tchaikovsky he said it was “truly a virtuoso concerto”. And, while most violinists cite the Beethoven and Brahms Concertos at the top of their list of favourites, Milstein’s opinion differed: “I feel that Max Bruch’s First Concerto is a masterpiece. It has virtues that cannot be found anywhere else”.