Renaud Capuçon, Jerome Ducros - Schubert: Grand Duo (Works For Violin & Piano) (1999)

Listeners looking for a single disc of Schubert's better known works for violin and piano not including the sonatas and sonatinas played by French musicians couldn't do better than this disc. Of course, that set of criteria does narrow things down considerably. Many listeners don't know Schubert's works for violin and piano like they know Beethoven's or Brahms' works for violin and piano and those who do may be less likely to be drawn by the lighter Rondo brilliant than by the weightier A minor sonata. Similarly, many listeners who might be drawn by a collection of Schubert's works for violin and piano may initially be more attracted to performances by Austrian or German players than by two French players. And the reason for that, of course, becomes clear in listening to this recording. Violinist Renaud Capuçon and pianist Jérôme Ducros are fine players with strong techniques, attractive tones, and an affectionate way with a phrase, but their interpretations are quite French: their colors are lovely, their surfaces are beautiful, and their aesthetic sympathies are not entirely as one with the echt Viennese music. Their slow movements sing but with a French accent. Their fast movements dance but with a French beat. Their development sections think but with French thoughts. This doesn't mean that Capuçon and Ducros' recording is not well worth hearing -- anyone who knows and loves the works will surely find things to admire about their performances -- but it does mean that listeners looking for a single disc of Schubert's better known works for violin and piano not including the sonatas may wish to check out a German or Austrian recording first. Virgin's 1998 digital sound is clear and full if not perhaps deep enough.