Brahms Violin Sonatas Nos 1-3
Mellifluous‚ songful playing giving much to enjoy‚ but is it at the cost of other aspects?
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johannes Brahms
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Naxos
Magazine Review Date: 10/2002
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 72
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: 8 554828

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Alexander Peskanov, Piano Ilya Kaler, Violin Johannes Brahms, Composer |
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Alexander Peskanov, Piano Ilya Kaler, Violin Johannes Brahms, Composer |
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Alexander Peskanov, Piano Ilya Kaler, Violin Johannes Brahms, Composer |
Author:
This is uncommonly fine sounding Brahms. The recording‚ made in Toronto‚ is full and warm‚ with excellent balance between violin and piano. Alexander Peskanov’s pianism is richly expressive‚ and Ilya Kaler produces a fine‚ appealing tone. Their approach to all three sonatas‚ moreover‚ is thoughtful and discerning.
So what more can one ask for? Not a lot‚ perhaps – the melodies of Op 78’s lyrical first movement unfold at a leisurely pace in long‚ beautifully sustained spans‚ and the Adagio of Op 108 is presented with delicacy and restraint‚ sounding wistful as well as serene‚ so that the fullblooded restatement of the main theme creates a stronger effect by contrast.
There were some places‚ however‚ where I felt the playing – tending always towards mellifluous‚ songful utterance – missed vital elements in the music. Does not the Presto finale of Op 108 make a more powerful effect if the impetus is kept up in the quieter passages‚ as Pamela Frank and Peter Serkin on Decca do‚ rather than broadening the tempo and releasing the tension‚ as happens here? And‚ in the last movement of Op 100‚ should not the pianissimi sound more tenuous‚ the loud outbursts more explosive‚ as a foil to the grand‚ soaring main theme‚ if the full character of the music is to be revealed? But nobody could accuse Kaler and Peskanov of smoothing out the contrasts and drama in the great opening Allegro of Op 108‚ where their impassioned‚ fulltoned climaxes give way to a solemn hush at the start of the coda. It’s certainly a record to enjoy.
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