Johanna Martzy - The Complete Recordings of Johanna Martzy on EMI & Deutsche Grammophon (2013)

For years Johanna Martzy's 1954-55 solo Bach recordings for EMI commanded huge sums on out-of-print LP lists, even after they were reissued in a French budget CD box alongside Janos Starker's EMI Bach Suites... Martzy tends to favor slow tempos, yet she holds interest by virtue of her hefty tone (what richness she gets from the lowest strings!), subtle dynamic variations, and expressive vibrato. If she doesn't match the elder Szigeti's harmonic intensity, her superior intonation and steadier bow arm compensate, save for her sometimes labored execution in the E major Preludio.

That said, I find faster movements such as the G minor Presto, A minor Allegro, and C major Allegro assai rather square and uneventful in Martzy's hands, while her C major Fuga and both B minor and D minor Correntes sound relatively flaccid and under-characterized in comparison with James Ehnes' comparably measured traversals. But the hushed, sustained intensity with which she imbues softer, more introspective music such as the great D minor Chaconne's central major section and the A minor Andante easily explain why certain collectors fawned over Martzy. -- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Franz Schubert was a competent violinist and violist and his four violin sonatas pose no problems for skilled players. It is strange, then, that so few really recommendable recordings of them have been made. It is therefore no surprise that these beautiful interpretations by Johanna Martzy and Jean Antonietti have become legendary. These performers bring beautiful, meticulously prepared playing to all half dozen pieces. Their interpretations, which are well balanced and clearly recorded for the time, have an inherent strength but also pliancy, transparency and unsentimental sweetness where required. -- MusicWeb International