These are assured performances. Stern and Bronfman have worked together for some time now and show excellent rapport, and their view of these pieces is spacious and elegant. Sony Classical's 20-bit technology has given them a convincing sound, although it is more immediate than some people will like and I needed to set the volume control lower than usual, which can be done without loss of presence. However, the violin sound contrasts a little too strongly with that of the piano, the former being very clear, the latter on the mellow side.
That is not to say, though, that there is a lack of tonal variety and beauty, and the quite lengthy Andante of K454 offers an example of Stern at his most silkily persuasive. Indeed, as the sonatas unfold, one notes effortless mastery, and although no attempt is made at period authenticity, the players and their instruments sound very much at home. Furthermore, Stern doesn't mind accompanying where that is called for, which is frequently; this music was, after all, designated as ''for keyboard and violin'': one such passage is the beginning of the slow movement of K296, where the opening theme is left wholly to the piano. The artists also recognize that each of these three sonatas inhabits a slightly different, though related, world: thus the mood of the C major Sonata is unlike that of the B flat major, for although both are buoyant, the C major has greater impetuosity. Here, however, I question some dynamics, as in the A minor episode of the finale, which should be softer; indeed, the same applies to much else in this movement. The A major Sonata is played with panache, although here, too, piano is too often nearer forte and contrast consequently diminished. None the less, this is an attractive disc.'