This is a disc full of beautiful, ingratiating music. At more than 38 minutes Karl Goldmark’s Violin Sonata is a big, rich, and warmly romantic work in the manner of Brahms that also displays the rhythmic snap and harmonic pungency of Dvorák, especially in the inner movements. The first movement’s exposition repeat allows us to hear the engaging first subject once more, while the finale’s dancing character initially suggests a second scherzo. Violinist Ulf Wallin plays with a remarkable lucidity that imparts a glow to this fine music. He extends this effect to the appended Ballad and the touching Romanza, a work that lingers in the mind long after its conclusion. The disc concludes with Bruno Canino’s transparent rendering of Goldmark’s Six Piano Pieces, which vary in style from Brahms to Grieg. CPO’s sound is comfortably realistic.
