Brahms - Violin Sonata 1 [Weithaas/Avenhaus]This a new set of the Brahms Violin Sonatas that i bought recently, just because they looked really good, i like the booklet cover photos, nice black and white shots.
Well the name Antje Weithaas is new to me, and she's recorded on a small but enterprising label, but don't let that put you off, she's good, the disc was recorded in 2006.
The recording can seem a little bass heavy, but the engineers have done a wonderful job, a very lively clear recording indeed, especially the piano is caught superbly, and the treble registers are a delight.
I enjoyed the first movement, just to give you a flavour of Pianist Silke Avenhaus treble right hand playing, try a section near the beginning [0:28-1:33], the violin turns to pizzicato as the pianist runs up and down the keyboard [3:38-4:23], the violin joins in those runs in a game of catch and chase [4:02+], the music turns more passionate [5:13-5:53], with both violin and piano having a great intensity, towards the end there's more lovely treble work by Avenhaus [7:16+], which culminates in a deep passion by Weithaas [7:45+], which include four lovely descending bass notes on the piano as the violin muses [7:54-7:58], a very magical moment, i'm glad i noticed this, this was the highlight for me!, there's a nice slow quiet coda at the end, which quickly bursts into one more impassioned bravado to the end [10:00-10:57], a movement bustling full of interest.
Here's Maxim Vengerov playing the first movement on YouTube.
