It’s a real pleasure to find that Itzhak Perlman, after an absence of some years from the recording studio, has lost none of his peerless abilities as violinist and musician. He and Emanuel Ax make a splendid partnership, giving commanding, thrilling performances of these two sonatas. They catch the ardent spirit of Fauré’s youthful masterpiece admirably, yet without neglecting its quieter moments of tenderness or mystery. I’ve long admired the 1950 recording of this piece by Lola Bobescu and Jacques Genty, a very different account which stresses elegance and a more understated expression, contrasting with the varied colours and uninhibited approach of Ax and Perlman; emphasised by the vivid definition and rich ambience of the new recording. In the outer movements one is swept along by Perlman and Ax’s élan, but in the Andante I feel there may be something to be said for the gentler, more wistful approach of Bobescu and Genty.

Restraint is not likely to be a virtue in Strauss’s highly Romantic sonata, and this performance is certainly admirably full-blooded. Compared to the fine recent account by Augustin Dumay and Louis Lortie, Perlman and Ax impart greater energy and momentum to the quick movements, giving them a Don Juan-like sense of overwhelming life force. Yet there’s subtlety, too, with Perlman adopting a moving, ‘speaking’ style in the Andante, reminiscent of Heifetz, while Ax finds an extra delicacy of touch for the filigree passages near the end of the movement. It’s pity they make the cut in the finale (tr 7, 7'27") which Heifetz also used to make – Dumay and Lortie show how effective this passage can be. But this issue can only be warmly welcomed; the players’ evident enjoyment in the music is quite irresistible.