According to cellist Dóra Kokas, ‘Hypnosis’ (this programme’s title) refers to the hypnotherapy Rachmaninov underwent in order to overcome a deep depression sparked by the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony in 1897. Following his recovery, he composed two of his most melodically fertile works, the Second Piano Concerto and the Cello Sonata, both completed in 1901.

Kokas was a student of the great Miklós Perényi, and her playing is similar to her teacher’s in its unaffectedness. Indeed, she gives an unusually elegant account of Rachmaninov’s effusive Sonata, yet her relative restraint sacrifices nothing in intensity or ardour. Listen to the rapturous climax in the slow movement (start around 2'45") where she and pianist Marianna Shirinyan pack a velvet-gloved punch, for example, or to the unforgettable lyrical theme at 0'58" in the finale, where Kokas’s tone is simultaneously full throated and intimate.

In a brief booklet note, Kokas points out that, like Rachmaninov before him, Shostakovich composed his Cello Sonata following a period of serious emotional difficulty. And, aptly, she and Shirinyan traverse a vast emotional range in their performance, yet again the music unfolds with exceptional naturalness. Try the end of the first movement (starting at 9'15"), where the warmth of their playing makes the sudden iciness of the coda especially chilling, or to the steely tenderness with which they sustain the songlike lines of the Largo. Even Rachmaninov’s Vocalise is memorably characterised in their hands, as they trace the music’s growing passion as if it were the narrative arc of a short story.

Shirinyan, a sensitive, articulate pianist, is very much an equal partner to Kokas, and Hungaroton’s engineering treats them as such. This is the duo’s debut recital, and it’s left me wanting more. I can imagine their blend of plainspokenness and thoughtful subtlety being especially well suited to the Brahms or Fauré sonatas. How about it, Hungaroton?