Although the Elgar Violin Concerto is currently regarded as one of the major works for the violin, it wasn’t until the end of the 20th century that it achieved this status. Elgar’s sole violin concerto was inspired by the playing of Fritz Kreisler who premiered the work in 1910, but was primarily performed in the UK. Despite the famous recording made by the 16-year-old Yehudi Menuhin in 1932 with the composer conducting, it wasn’t until nearly 50 years later that the work began to be performed internationally. As it turns out, Jascha Heifetz was one of the earliest champions of Elgar’s Violin Concerto. Enamoured by the work since his early teens, the young violinist made arrangements to meet with the venerable composer at the time of his UK début at the age of 18. Later that year, he performed the work with the London Philharmonic conducted by Albert Coates. After hearing the young virtuoso’s performance, Elgar was bowled over, remarking that it was ‘a tremendous display’. In addition to Heifetz’s brilliant 1949 rendition of the Elgar, this release features two other beloved violin concertos recorded in 1951: Mozart’s Concerto No.4 and Bruch’s Concerto No.1. All three works were made in the famed Abbey Road studios and feature the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent, one of Heifetz’s favourite collaborators.