Brahms - Violin Sonata 1 [Znaider/Bronfman] First off, the booklet cover here is actually the back of the booklet cover, and i strategically rubbed on these white transfers to now make it the 'front' of the booklet!, i think i did a great job, the original front was quite boring, but this back cover shot [by Vanessa Lenz] is very nice, with both the violin and the piano in the picture, and the colour full of different shades of brown, the lettering sideways is a nice touch, it works so well, i don't understand why it isn't done more, i really like it.
Nikolaj Znaider is Danish by birth [and i always thought he was Russian!], born in 1975, he recorded this Sonata in 2005, he is still quite young for a world Violinist [35], but he is really making a name for himself, well i just counted my Brahms Violin Sonata discs i own, and it's 11 discs, they're one of my favourite works, and i love hearing different interpretations and performers.
On this listen i fell in love with the first movement all over again, i must admit that Znaider has a lovely tone, an unhurried approach to playing, not meaning in any way that he's slow, but he doesn't force things, he allows the music / Brahms to speak for himself, believing that the beauties of the music will reveal all in their own time, there's a gentleness to his playing, it's absolutely disarming, it's like someone who speaks calmly can get their point across much better than someone who shouts, Znaider also has a nice legato, in a way quite old fashioned playing, and apart from some breathing / sniffing at certain points, doesn't put a foot wrong, i just wish at certain points he would become more romantic / more intense, just swoon a bit in a very few strategic places.
The first movement starts off in such a gentle and sweet way [0:00+], with soft piano notes tolling out, and the violin appears in a very low key humble way, which is totally beguiling, but very soon things change, the piano gets more animated [0:24-0:45] with these gorgeous chiming treble notes, it's like the odd treble note here and there chimes out more than the others, like a night sky full of stars, where the odd one twinkles and stands out in the firmament, this exact phrase comes back later [6:47-7:08], and it's such a joy to hear it again, between this is a very thoughtful violin pizzicato section [3:26-3:47], where the piano plays the tune, it's good to hear this variation on the main tune, the whole movement sounds steeped in nostalgia, and Znaider brings out its autumn colours very nicely, if it wasn't for Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata [Violin Sonata 9], Brahms might win the Violin Sonata stakes here.
Here's Ida Haendel playing the first movement on YouTube.
