Augustin Dumay, Maria João Pires - Brahms: Violin Sonatas (1992) CD-Rip

This is an exceptional disc. Exceptional both for the music – Johannes Brahms’ three violin sonatas contain some of his most lovely writing – and the performance – French violinist Augustin Dumay and Portuguese pianist Maria Pires project a strong interpretive vision. The interpretation is more lyrical and thoughtful than typical, with somewhat slow tempi generally. This is married to exquisite – and I mean, exquisite – technique from both Pires and Dumay as well as an outstanding sound engineering job from DG. The excellence of this CD is comprehensive.
The gorgeous lyricism is immediately apparent in the 1st Violin Sonata, with Dumay and Pires playing the beautiful opening melody to project a feeling of peace. Their approach shouldn’t be identified with understatement, though, as the exciting coda of the 1st sonata’s opening Vivace projects strongly. The delicacy and refinement pervading most of the 1st and 2nd sonatas is suffused with a sort of glow, opening up a higher plane of existence, reproducing “all the emotions of our innermost being, but entirely without reality and remote from its pain.”
The 3rd violin sonata for me is one of the great compositions ever written. My touchstone for many years has been the classic David Oistrakh/Sviatoslav Richter performance which, beyond its undoubted excellence, has something ineffable about it. The way the delicate Scherzo unfolds in the hands of the Russian musicians defies technique or interpretation – like a memory recalled on a gloomy day. Dumay and Pires play the 3rd sonata beautifully and have a very different interpretation from Oistrakh and Richter. Though they take a gentler approach than the Russians in the Allegro and Adagio, their Scherzo and the swift Finale are done as forcefully as I’ve ever heard. The recap of the Scherzo’s main theme is energetic and the sweeping finale is rousing and moving.
Highest recommendation. Treat yourself to this one. It’s a very special performance.