These performances of Brahms's Cello Sonatas 1 & 2 capture the music's melodic and harmonic richness, says Geoffrey Norris.
Paul Watkins and Ian Brown here give well-modulated performances of the two Brahms cello sonatas. Cello and piano are finely balanced in timbre, spontaneously complementary in their reactions to the music and effective in combining intricacy of texture with broader aspects of lyricism. This is nowhere more evident than in the finale of the E minor Sonata, where the oscillation between toughness and tenderness is dealt with in a way that preserves the music’s essential momentum but at the same time leaves space for reflection.
The passionate opening of the F major Sonata launches a.........
