String Excellence, the 2006 collection of recordings by Chennai's Lalgudi Jayaraman, sees the famed violinist wielding his instrument with virtuosic talent: on selections like "Bala Gopala", Jayaraman whips his violin into an ethereal trance before thundering percussion emerges to return it to earth. Jayaraman was always an evocative, lyrical musician; take the wild trills of "Chinnanchiru Kiliye" and the percussive bow agility of "Thillana". On String Excellence, he explores the full expanse of technique and expression.