If you love Brahms primarily for his Romanticism, for his expressive harmonies and soaring melodies, then these recordings could be the ones for you. Among today’s violinists, none has a richer, more sonorous tone than Shlomo Mintz. And though Itamar Golan has his name printed in smaller type, he’s very much an equal partner; we can especially enjoy his beautifully balanced chords and cantabile touch. It’s a real treat, too, to hear Mintz’s viola playing – if anything even more mellow than his performance on the violin – and to listen to five of the Brahms duo sonatas from the same team.

Taken as a whole, however, the effect of these performances is somewhat one-sided. Their expansive, warmly sustained character inspires some very slow speeds – in the outer movements of No 1 the Un poco presto of No 3, and the vivace sections of No 3’s middle movement, for instance – which tend to take away something of the music’s life and spirit. I sense, too, some reluctance on Mintz’s part to play really quietly. In the mysterious pianissimo passages in No 1’s first movement the continuous bow pressure and vibrato make it difficult to create the solemn, hushed atmosphere of suspense that sounds so memorable in the recording by Peter Serkin and Pamela Frank. The same thing happens in the unique, quiet development section of No 3’s first movement.

Such shortcomings aren’t always apparent, however. In the Andante of the First Viola Sonata Mintz achieves a range of exquisite piano and pianissimo sounds and, helped by Golan’s sensitivity, gives to the whole movement a compelling, trance-like quality. The Allegro appassionato middle movement of No 2 pushes forward with great intensity, as do the insistent rhythms of the FAE Scherzo. And even if the Violin Sonata No 2’s Allegro amabile opening movement is on the slow side, the playing has great expressive power, and shows deep engagement with the musical argument.

Accomplished, immensely enjoyable music-making, then, but if your main interest is in the violin sonatas, go for Frank and Serkin who, in terms of imagination, vitality and variety of colour, are in a different league.