MaximVengerov (violin), Itamar Golan (piano) Wigmore Hall Live WHLive 0056 ****

If you've wondered why you've heard so little of megastar violinist Maxim Vengerov over the past few years, the answer is simple. He was kept out of action by an injury and had concentrated on his conducting career. This new disc documents Vengerov's London return as a violinist to the Wigmore Hall last April. His handling of Bach's great D minor Partita is unfussy, magisterial, still somehow grave even when most energised by the urge to dance. That steadiness informs Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata as well, in a performance that's often slow- burning rather than sparky. Itamar Golan's piano playing sounds a bit woolly in the sonata. The real fire is in the encores by Wieniawski and Brahms. url.ie/fa5t