Here is an interesting juxtaposition of three sonatas from the turn of the last century, of which the Strauss was written first, in 1887, and the Janacek only reached its final form in 1921. Arguably, not one represents the composer at his best, although Debussy’s only falls slightly short, but they make a useful triptych – Dmitri Sitkovetsky and Pavel Gililov offered the same programme on a Virgin Classics disc (9/89) which was liked by ES in curate’s-egg fashion (his reservations mainly concerned the Debussy).
I feel much the same about the present issue. The Debussy, with which the disc begins, is a little lacking in spontaneity and the diverse moods of the first movement don’t always coalesce. Still, these young Israeli artists are sensitive and as aware of the sighing nature of the Intermede, as they are of the finale’s elan. Shapira also produces a beautiful tone, both here and elsewhere. Janacek’s Sonata, Moravian-inspired and much revised, is more enjoyable, though here again the two artists sound less than completely inside this idiom, with its characteristic naive gestures. I find Strauss’s Violin Sonata over-long; it is strange to think that he penned it at 23 with the masterly Don Juan to come just a year later. Although it is twice as long as the Debussy, it fails to say half as much. But violinists, led by Heifetz, evidently enjoy it and this eloquent performance makes a persuasive case for it. The recording of all three sonatas is clear but somewhat close, lessening the mystery of the Debussy and Janacek works.'