Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon highlight the Kreutzer Sonata’s fantasia-like, improvisatory qualities. Thus, while Isabelle Faust plays the opening four-bar solo as if in a single breath (Harmonia Mundi, 10/10), Weithaas seems to feel her way, savouring the changing colours of each chord. Throughout the sonata, in fact, Weithaas and Várjon do a little pushing and pulling of the tempo for both expressive and dramatic purposes. Their rubato is generally well considered, although I do wish they didn’t signal the unexpected appearance of the second theme by slowing down as they approach (listen starting around 2'35"). This is a subtle thing, I admit, yet the way Faust and Melnikov hold to the tempo provides a magical sense of surprise when the music suddenly relaxes.

Weithaas and Várjon’s performance is also one of considerable ferocity. Weithaas attacks the many sforzando accents with such vehemence that her tone sometimes spreads a little. The result can feel rough-hewn, but as Beethoven seems to be pushing so forcefully at the boundaries of the genre, a little grit doesn’t seem out of place. And in the Andante con variazioni, I very much like the way the players save their most delicate and tender playing for the fourth and final variation, giving a sense of a journey inwards towards something quite intimate.

There are some terrific moments in the two earlier sonatas, as well. Weithaas and Várjon give a brilliant edge to the finale of Op 12 No 2 – listen, say, to their whiplash phrasing at 0'25" – and in the second movement of Op 23 they manage to be simultaneously playful and warm-hearted. I’m slightly bothered, however, by the way they overlook some carefully calibrated dynamic contrasts and gradations – the opening of Op 23, for instance, which according to the score is primarily piano with stabbing accents. Generally speaking, their piano playing could be more confidential. Their fussing with tempo and rhythm can also be a distraction – note the slight hesitations in the passage starting at 3'01" in Op 23’s first movement.

This is the first volume in a complete cycle of the 10 violin sonatas, and despite my nitpicking, the adventurous spirit Weithaas and Várjon convey here makes me eager to hear future instalments.