JOSHUA BELL, MICHAEL STERN AND THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS; "Romance of the Violin" (Sony Classical) ****

Next month, 35-year-old violin superstar Joshua Bell is set to release his 27th album.

One of the most prolific recording artists in any genre today, Bell has proved himself to be one of the most marketable classical musicians of all time as well, equaling or even surpassing the likes of Yo-Yo Ma in popularity. And like Ma, the main reason for Bell's success is his reluctance to stay within the standard repertoire of his instrument.

Of course, Bell has recorded most of the war horses, most recently the Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos with the Camerata Salzburg. But alongside these, he has also ventured into contemporary music, arrangements of popular works and film scores. Bell scored a bestseller two years ago with his recording of Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story," and he was the soloist in John Corigliano's Oscar-winning score for the film "The Red Violin."

After all this, the question remains, what is left for Bell to record? The answer is plenty, judging by his newest album, "Romance of the Violin."

The CD offers listeners 13 tracks of some of the most popular melodies ever written, skillfully arranged for violin by Craig Leon, who has also arranged for Luciano Pavarotti and Andreas Scholl.

"Romance of the Violin" is a showcase for the purely expressive side of the instrument and Bell makes the most of it. He captures the simple charm of the melodies with his unassuming but sensitive playing. There is no virtuosity on display here, just sheer musicality. And Bell does make his violin sing with beautifully crafted phrases.

Some of the most memorable tracks on the album are Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor, op. post.; Saint-Saens' "The Swan," Schubert's "Serenade," Bellini's "Casta Diva" and Borodin's "Nocturne" from the String Quartet No. 2. In these arrangements, Bell's playing is positively radiant.

The rest of the CD consists of Puccini's "O mio babbino caro," Debussy's "The Girl With Flaxen Hair," Mozart's Andante from the Piano Concerto No. 21, Gluck's "Dance of the Blessed Spirits," Dvor�k's "Song My Mother Taught Me," Monteverdi's "Pur ti Miro," Massenet's "Elegie" ("O douz printemps d'autrefoix") and Schumann's "Tr . . . umerei." All of the pieces on this recording lend themselves especially well to Leon's expert arrangements. And Michael Stern and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields provide subtle and refined accompaniment.

There is nothing not to like about "Romance of the Violin."

Arranging melodies for violin isn't unique to Bell. This has been done countless times over the years. What is different, though, is the total lack of sentimentality in Bell's interpretations. He treats each gem as if it were a movement from one of the great violin concertos of the 19th century. And that is exactly how this music needs to be played.

Bell understands this, and one's listening experience is the richer for it.

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com