Perhaps it's a cliche to recommend so obvious a masterpiece. So here's a twist: Buy two copies of the Concerto, one featuring Jascha Heifetz on violin, the other Itzhak Perlman. It doesn't matter how many times you've listened to it before, listen again and often. Stick to just one version. (You decide which one.) Become so familiar with the piece that you'll know what's coming next. Get to a point, for example, where you know every beautiful step through the second movement. No surprises. Then switch to the other version. Compare translations. Listen for what's familiar, what's different. There's more than one genius at work here.

Adrian Lurssen