Avi Avital is a young man from Be’er Sheva determined (we are told) to bring the mandolin and its repertoire to a wider audience. Trained in Israel and Italy and backed by the Deutsche Grammophon marketing machine (it’s hard to see how he can be ‘the instrument’s first international superstar’ on his debut album!), this disc eschews the traditional Vivaldis and Hummels in favour of Avital’s own arrangements of Bach concerti. There’s a good precedent for such treatment, as both the harpsichord concerti presented here are thought to have started life as works for other instruments.

Avital is at his most convincing in the works originally for keyboard (a mandolin being not that different from the ‘plucked’ strings of a harpsichord). The opening D Minor concerto goes with a great swing and sense of joie de vivre. The Largo of the G Minor concerto is positively enchanting, with a sound world close to Vivaldi’s. The A Minor violin concerto can feel a bit Spartan, missing the longer-held notes,
as can the E Minor flute sonata, but these are minor quibbles.

Needless to say, Avital’s technique is excellent and given the tiny fret board of his instrument, his playing is impressively clean. There are occasional moments where the rapid ornamentation becomes a bit smudged but little that mars the overall pleasure of hearing a man infectiously enjoying his