That's why anyone who loves the violin should have these amazing Decca recordings from the 1950s, for here is Ricci at his dazzling best. Another fascinating dimension to these priceless performances (I use the term advisedly, for much of this is playing to the gallery at its worst, and yet Ricci always gets away with it!) are the contributions of Louis Persinger, Ricci's (and Menuhin's) first teacher, who also proves to have been a crack accompanist. Unsurprisingly, it's works by Paganini and Sarasate that dominate these two discs, and Ricci's accounts are sensational, even if they sometimes betray a certain lack of musical good taste. And the rest, a smattering of virtuoso showstoppers by Wieniawski, Elgar, Vécsey, Kroll, Chopin, Smetana, Suk, Achron, Hubay, and Moszkowski, makes you realize that today's hot-house-reared fiddlers are snubbing a universe of masterpieces they rate beneath their dignity. Or is it that many of these pieces are just too difficult? Listen to Ricci in Bazzini's La Ronde des Lutins, the last track on Disc 2, and make up your own mind! Extraordinary violin playing and nice-sounding transfers--don't miss it!