It doesn’t take long for this CD to make an impact. Natalie Clein declaims the main theme of the Second Sonata (played first) with uninhibited force and passion. Charles Owen’s accompanying tremolandi are impressively dense and even, and the recording has a nice degree of resonance while retaining a feeling of intimacy that supports the most delicate tonal shadings (at the start of the Adagio, for instance). As the performance continues, we can appreciate an expressive flexibility that always sounds natural, and an ability to give each new idea a sharp character of its own while maintaining continuity. In the Allegro passionate third movement, Clein’s quavers are short and staccato; other cellists, Anne Gastinel, for instance, make a more passionate sound. But the emotion is still strongly conveyed through powerful rhythmic momentum.

In the First Sonata (played last), it’s initially the lyricism that is stressed, so that the great arc of the first-movement development section makes an unusually intense effect. The minuet-like Allegretto is beautifully poised and delicate, while the fugal finale brings back the excitement with which the disc began. Here again, Clein uses short bow-strokes for the detached triplets, helping to make the movement more light and brilliant, if lacking something of the grandeur that Mstislav Rostropovich and Rudolf Serkin bring to it.

In between comes the Schubert, in a slightly disappointing performance. It’s remarkable cello playing – secure and lively, the tone pure and well-centred – but just too cool for my taste, the melodies lacking that melancholy touch that gives profundity even to one of Schubert’s lesser works. The Brahms, however, is enough to make this a very strong recommendation.