Alina Ibragimova / Cédric Tiberghien BRAHMS Violin Sonatas

‘Such a well-established and often inspirational musical partnership that I inevitably had high hopes for their Brahms sonatas, and I’m so happy to report that they were in no way disappointed. Right from the start (the first movement of the G major sonata), there’s a confessional intimacy that allows them to steadily build over the entire ten minute span of the first movement to a properly ecstatic conclusion rarely achieved as well as it is here. No extreme tempos, an unerring sense of give and take—you might be surprised how many estimable players don’t seem to know when to allow the other party to take the limelight. The climaxes are telling, without hectoring. They allow the music to speak eloquently, conversationally, surprisingly gently sometimes, and the recording is as well balanced as the playing. I have a handful of favourite recordings of the Brahms violin sonatas that will now have to shuffle up to make space for this one.’ (BBC Record Review)