In the summer of 2010, a Russian violinist by the name of Evgeny Sviridov participated in the Leipzig Bach Competition. And he went home as a winner – much to the surprise of his teacher in St Petersburg, who knew nothing about it. One year later, the young man's debut CD featuring works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber was released, and critics were speechless, for he played "so refreshingly, full of life and breath, as if he had just written this music himself." His latest recording for cpo is dedicated to the Bohemian composer and violinist Franz Benda who came from a very modest background to make a career at the court of Frederick II of Prussia. And we realise once again that Sviridov does not like old, dusty ideas. Already after a few bars, the leader of Concerto Köln lets us know that music is indeed an overwhelming narrative of sound, thus saving us from reading many clever books on the subject...