Violinist
Akiko Suwanai
and pianist
Evgeni Bozhanov
are not household names, but they have toured with
Brahms
' three violin sonatas, and they are a well-oiled unit in these works, where that is especially important. The violin sonata genre was generally a light one in the 19th century, but it wasn't when
got through with it; these three sonatas are from the later part of his career, and they are intricate indeed.
Suwanai
and
Bozhanov
have spoken of emulating performances from the early 20th century, and indeed, the pitch of expressiveness here is fairly high. However, the strongest feature of the performances is the control over the violin-piano dynamic in the outer movements, most of them, except for the first movement of the
Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
, relatively compact. The performers use the genre nomenclature "Sonata for Piano and Violin"; this is rarely used, but it was
' own, and it tells much about the music. Most of the thematic groups in the outer movements are indeed introduced by the piano, with the development of the movement often depending on how the violin responds to it, and this is beautifully handled.
achieves a fine cantabile in the slow movements. This release appeared in 2024 as a physical SACD in Japan and as a streaming release elsewhere; it may be worth seeking out the physical product, for streamed sound is not especially friendly to the acoustic of the Robert-Schumann-Saal in Düsseldoft, where the album was recorded. ~ James Manheim