The two recording sessions for Willows coincided with the passing of Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto’s parents and his brother Jaakko (also a violinist). The grief of personal loss bled into the sessions, and there is no doubting the depth which Kuusisto brings to the recital’s opening item, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. The dreamy introduction acquires an ethereal, other-worldly aura in Kuusisto’s interpretation, and the high-flying violin sorties which come later seem particularly fragile and evanescent. Space for reflection and catharsis is provided in American composer Caroline Shaw’s Plan & Elevation, a set of five movements inspired by the gardens at the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington, D.C. “The Beech Tree,” with its numinous cluster of pizzicatos and searing violin ascents, is especially effective in the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra’s empathetic performance. A haunting group of folk songs, arranged by Nico Muhly and affectingly sung by Sam Amidon, brings the album to a gently consolatory conclusion.