This is as fine a set of Beethoven violin sonatas as has ever been recorded. It has everything: excitement, character, explosive contrasts, subtle shadings, and the long cantabile line that Beethoven demands–and it’s superbly recorded as well. Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov form a true partnership, playing off of each other and imbuing the music with a genuine, conversational quality that’s very fetching. There are so many examples of this, but perhaps the most winning is the give-and-take opening of Op. 30 No. 3, in which the players seem to surprise each other with each rhythmic exchange. Indeed, keenly sprung rhythms give this set much of its special distinction, whether in the dazzling first movement of the “Kreutzer” sonata, or the lilting ländler in the scherzo of Op. 96.
Lyricism and an effortless, singing cantabile also permeate the music, and these interpretations. The opening of the “Spring” sonata seldom has sounded so fresh and natural, while the finale of Op. 12 No. 2 is truly “piacevole” without ever turning “bore-vole”. Five of these 10 sonatas have slow movements that are marked either “espressivo” or “cantabile”, and that’s exactly what Faust and Melnikov offer, without ever turning sticky or drowning the music in excessive sentiment. There’s a clarity to the phrasing here, a sharpness of focus and an understanding of Beethoven’s large musical paragraphs that’s very much part of the expressive point. The bottom line: this is a great set, and if you love these works, you must hear it. [10/21/2009]
