Brahms - Violin Sonata 1 [Halim/Gillot]Here's a new set of Brahms's Violin Sonatas that i purchased recently, yes another set!, it goes along nicely with the other ten or so sets i have! haha, actually this is quite a different and individual set, when the music began, i was quite taken aback, Halim's violin sounds really dark and deep, i actually had to check to see if this wasn't a viola transcription of these works, the final assessment is that the jury's out on this disc, i really need to listen to it some more.
Atef Halim is unknown to me, he was born in Cairo, so i assume he's Egyptian, he recorded this disc in 2004, i like the front cover, two pictures, one of Halim [by Kiyoshi Udagawa], and the other of Gillot [by Wilfred Guyot], pleasing enough, but the Halim photo is out of focus!.
Like i said above, it's the darkness / deepness of the violin that you first notice, the recording is very upfront, not some concert hall recording, but rather like an intimate front row seat, or maybe even closer, the violin more prominent than the piano, a believable acoustic, the piano leaning towards the left, and the violin the right, almost as if you're sitting between them, all of the three movements i felt were inspiring, but maybe the third movement just pips the others,
Here's Ida Haendel playing the last movement on YouTube.
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