William Dart: From Russia with love and a little tenderness

Ilya Gringolts was one of the wunderkinder of the late 90s, dashing off Paganini and Schnittke as if they were your basic Grade VI Handel Sonata.

But perhaps that was to be expected from a teenager who had Vivaldi's Four Seasons securely under his bow when he was only 11.

The Russian violinist is now on the Deutsche Grammophon roster and, although the label has put its faith in some disappointing young hopefuls in the past, Martin Engstroem, head of A&R, is sure Gringolts has got what it takes. In short: "He's reserved and doesn't have a wet T-shirt."

This young man doesn't need that garment when J. Henry Fair is lensing the images for his debut album. The disc, pairing Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich concertos with the Israel Philharmonic under Itzhak Perlman, is an attractive package, with enough sleek pictures of a soulful Gringolts to fuel a feature in Vanity Fair.

David Brown's liner notes press all the right buttons, too. Tchaikovsky's concerto was the frustrated composer's love letter to the young violinist Josef Kotek, while Shostakovich's work was a brave stand against Stalinist tyranny.

Thankfully, the music lives up to the marketing. Even Tchaikovsky's warhorse comes across as fresh as a spring foal, very much presented through the sensibilities of a young man. You can hear it in the sheer buoyancy of Gringolts' opening melody, while the first movement cadenza is pure testosterone territory.

The violinist underplays the poetic Canzonetta, with some heart-stopping, tremulous moments when you almost swear the bow is not travelling quickly enough on the string.

More than ever, you are aware of the closely miked player gasping for breath.

The Finale sweeps all before it in a torrent of passion. Little wonder that the Israel Philharmonic, under Gringolts' mentor Perlman, seems a little in awe of its soloist.

Gringolts scored a triumph with Shostakovich's First Concerto in the London Proms last month and it is not hard to hear why.

The young Russian immerses himself in Shostakovich's world. He brings the subtlest of inflections to the bleak passions of the opening Nocturne, his line floating bravely and perilously above the composer's orchestral forebodings.

More than any other performance I have heard, Gringolts vindicates David Oistrakh's feelings that this movement is "not all melancholy hopelessness but a suppression of feelings, of tragedy in the best sense of purification".

The Scherzo bristles with a demonic energy and the great cadenza is a massive five-minute journey from mournful lyricism to savage virtuosity.

When it comes to the circus-like Finale, we the listeners have to decide whether this is a village hoe-down or relentless Stalinist inquisition. I must admit that I'm for the latter, but Gringolts' spirited playing easily fits both.

* Ilya Gringolts plays Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich Concertos (Deutsche Grammophon 471616)