I first heard him in a Prokofiev sonata at Tanglewood two summers ago. The performance was so riveting it made me stop my munching to watch and listen. To my surprise, Shaham wasn't writhing and tossing his hair. The passion and energy were coming out of the violin itself. Among all the hotshot young violinists out there, Shaham strikes me as the most serious musician.

The two concertos here and the later, very appealing Sonata for Solo Violin have a powerful drive, an irresistible sense of musical direction and inner logic. Shaham has technique to burn, but he doesn't need to display it for its own sake. And he avoids the other pitfall to which these violin concertos are prone -- sentimentalization. Like Szigeti, he captures Prokofiev's edgy sense of danger -- and playfulness -- as well as the sweetness of the "dreaming" Prokofiev asks for. Even André Previn, often so slack, seems galvanized by Shaham. Who wouldn't be?

-- Lloyd Schwartz