This disc has appeared in my Blog twice in 2010, but never with the First Violin Sonata, so this is a debut of sorts, Mutter has re-recorded these Sonatas for DG with Orkis, and i would really like to hear her newer interpretations [recorded nearly 30 years later], what we have here is her earlier accounts from 1982 when she was 19, and another strange partnership of Pianist and Violinist, but it works well, i don't see Weissenberg as a Chamber Musician, he's either a Soloist or a Concertoist [is that a proper word?], it was good to hear the youthful ardour of Mutter today.
Anne-Sophie Mutter is German, she's now 49 years old, but she recorded this disc when she was 19 in 1982, like yesterday, another picture [by Roberto Estrada] that is a true duo portrait, Weissenberg is more in focus, and leaves Mutter slightly out of focus, not a bad front booklet, but it could have been done better.
The very opening of this Sonata is wonderful, the movement is Vivace Ma Non Troppo, Vivace means 'lively', but the opening is restrained, sounds like we're going to get a slow movement at first [0:00-0:30], but soon speeds up into an Allegro of sorts, the start is two notes from Weissenberg, then Mutter comes in with the most exquisite pleading, it's the perfect start to a Violin Sonata, also the way the movement develops a rapturous yearning very quickly, some people say that Mutter has too much vibrato, i must admit i'm a fan of legato, and those Artists that lean slightly towards legato get the thumbs up in my book, Mutter has a few phrases / sections where there's some sharp corners of staccato that could have been smoothed over, also Weissenberg has a tendency to keep in the shadows and be an accompanist, rather than a partner, this movement is very much the longest movement of any of Brahms's Violin Sonatas, just over 10 minutes, musical ideas come round in a cycle, and it's just wonderful to hear Brahms's ideas stream past in almost a circular conveyor belt fashion, a superb Violin Sonata.
Here's Anne-Sophie Mutter playing the first movement on YouTube.
