The youthful C minor Scherzo makes a welcome bonus to the common programming of the three sonatas. Amoyal and Chiu’s performances are on the grand scale‚ with both artists producing fine‚ ample tone and benefiting from generous recorded sound. They’re at their best in dramatic movements like the Scherzo and the opening Allegro of Op 108‚ bringing out all the symphonic grandeur inherent in the music. Their unusually expansive account of Op 78’s first movement emphasises the long arches of lyrical melody as well as the powerful central climax. In more delicate pieces they scale down their playing effectively‚ but other duos‚ taking a more intimate view of the sonatas as a whole‚ sound more at home in movements like the wistful Un poco presto of Op 108 – Frank and Serkin play this piece with elfin grace and lightness. Sometimes Amoyal and Chiu’s broadness tends towards heaviness – the Allegro amabile at the start of Op 100 is certainly amabile‚ but Mullova and Anderszewski offer much greater animation without losing the smiling character. I would enjoy Amoyal’s playing more if he took greater care to bow smoothly whenever Brahms slurs notes together. The legato line is used by violinists as different as Busch and Mullova as a powerful means of emotional expression; Amoyal often rules this out by articulating slurred phrases with bow pressure. Not my first recommendation for the Brahms sonatas‚ then; of recent accounts‚ I’d plump for Frank and Serkin’s wonderfully precise‚ imaginative performances‚ or the more forceful‚ passionate Mullova/Anderszewski recording. But if you like Brahms in the grand manner‚ this could be the one for you.