“There are few concertos that test the full range of a violinist’s artistry the way the Szymanowski does—and there are few violinists who ace that test with the subtle confidence of Elina Vähälä. Whether she’s singing out the music’s stratospheric lyricism, deftly navigating its mercurial shifts in emotional terrain, teasing out its subtle timbral demands, harnessing its long range rhetoric, knocking out the motoric Stravinsky-isms, or keeping the phrases from sagging under the weight of their florid ornamentation, Vähälä has the measure of this endlessly intricate score—as well as the technical brilliance necessary to toss it off without strain.”

Fanfare Magazine (Peter J. Rabinowitz), July/August 2019