Viktoria Mullova, Piotr Anderszewski - Brahms: Sonatas for Violin & Piano (1997)

Mullova and Anderszewski have thought through every detail of their interpretations - these are performances of exceptionally wide expressive range, from passionate ardor to the dark and turgid to the touchingly melancholic.

Mullova and Anderszewski give a wonderful impression of having thought through every detail of their interpretations. Throughout the three sonatas I was impressed, not just by the way they do everything Brahms asks for, but by their evident personal involvement in the music. They deliver the melodies of Op. 78’s opening movement with passionate ardour; those of the same sonata’s finale are played in a contrastingly gentle and wistful manner. The two scherzo sections (in Opp. 100 and 108) are given with quicksilver delicacy, whilst the Adagio of Op. 108, so often dark and turgid, emerges here as a touchingly melancholic lyrical movement, with occasional outbursts of intensity.

These are performances of exceptionally wide expressive range, then, and part of the secret of the achievement lies in the clarity of performance and recording. Piotr Anderszewski only produces a dry sound when Brahms asks for it, but with his carefully balanced chords and restrained use of the pedal he makes the most complex Brahmsian textures sound rich, not thick. He and Mullova produce some wonderful quiet playing – listen to the finale of Op. 108 from 2'17'' to 2'35''!

If Brahms’s chief appeal to you is his rich, romantic sound, then I think you may favour the playing of Chumachenko and Levy (n/a) over this new version. My vote, however, would be for the imagination and detailed expression of Anderszewski and Mullova. -- Duncan Druce