Lara St. John is underestimated as a solo violinist, in part owing to her flashy and sexual CD covers. In truth, she really is very gifted, as is another youngster, Hilary Hahn.
As for Max Vengerov, I'm a little more lukewarm. He cuts corners at times and glosses over some more challenging runs.
As for others, I might suggest:
Uchida for Mozart piano sonatas. Her complete recordings of Mozart (Philips) is pricey, but I got a good deal on it on eBay.
Michael Pletnev is probably the greatest pianist to come out of Russia since the late great Emil Gilels. I buy EVERYTHING of his and have never been disappointed, be it Scarlatti (yes, on piano, not harpsichord...fantastic!), Liszt, Grieg, Beethoven. His "Live at Carnegie Hall" (DG) recorded in 2000 is simply incredible and his "Pictures From An Exhibition" (Virgin) is the best I've heard (it was written originally, as you probably know, for piano) and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!
For cello, esp. Bach, there is both Rostropovich and Fournier (DG Archiv) are tops (more so than YoYo Ma).
As for Max Vengerov, I'm a little more lukewarm. He cuts corners at times and glosses over some more challenging runs.
As for others, I might suggest:
Uchida for Mozart piano sonatas. Her complete recordings of Mozart (Philips) is pricey, but I got a good deal on it on eBay.
Michael Pletnev is probably the greatest pianist to come out of Russia since the late great Emil Gilels. I buy EVERYTHING of his and have never been disappointed, be it Scarlatti (yes, on piano, not harpsichord...fantastic!), Liszt, Grieg, Beethoven. His "Live at Carnegie Hall" (DG) recorded in 2000 is simply incredible and his "Pictures From An Exhibition" (Virgin) is the best I've heard (it was written originally, as you probably know, for piano) and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!
For cello, esp. Bach, there is both Rostropovich and Fournier (DG Archiv) are tops (more so than YoYo Ma).