Search - Krysia Osotowicz, Susan Tomes :: Brahms: The Three Violin Sonatas

A great budget choice

Alan Lekan | Boulder, CO | 01/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Brahms' three Violin Sonatas are superb, deeply musical mature works, the first begun at the age of 45 with the others even years later. All reflect Brahms' wonderous lyricism and autumnal sentiments, yet none show outright virtuostic display typical of 19th-century violin music. As such, this is more intimate music made more for the enjoyment of the players and a small circle of listeners. The tone overall is more poinant, whistful and tender with only a couple movements showing outright unleashed passion (the d minor of course).



There is no shortage if fine - even legendary - performances of these works in the catalog. Notable pairs include Perlman/Ashkenazy (vintage passionate Perlman but harsh sound), Pires/Dumay (hard to find), Suk/Katchen, Stern/Bronfman, Chung/Frankl (lovely restained), Pamela Frank/Peter Serkin (individual and different), Grumiaux/Sobok (elegant Grumiaux), Capucon/Anglich (superb depth and musicianship), Mullova/Anderszewski and others. Among these, I personally like Tomes and Osotowicz the best for many reasons.



Susan Tomes is a prolific and terrific chamber musician well-loved in the UK while Polish-born Krysia O. is a violinist of great sensitivity and expressive style with great intonation (key for Brahms). Together they find an attractive and naturally-flowing partnership that serves this music admirably. Most any chamber music Susan Tomes records can be regarded as superb quality listening.



I've heard some refer to their performance here as more "surprisingly unengaged," but I do not hear such lacking here - especially not in the firey closing movement of the D minor which ranks amoung the best shaped and most powerful to me. Throughout, Kysia's intonation holds its line while Tomes drives the rythyms ever-so thoughtfully and expressively. I have come back to these recordings after hearing some lacklustered, intonationally-challenged playing by pairs I will not name. As Gramophone notes, their recording here on Hyperion budget-label Helios makes, "A fine addition to the catalog."



If you don't have any particular favorites, this is a great choice - especially for the low price, although the sound quality is not quite up to best recordings out there. But, its more than acceptable and the performance holds its own in a crowded field. Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound quality - 4 stars."

Sensitive and Engrossing Brahms

David J. Friedlander | Columbus, Ohio United States | 05/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the 2nd version of this I've owned. I have the shopworn Askenazy & Perlman...and have had that for quite sometime. It was from the earlier days of my collecting in 2001. It also quickly became one of my most favorite discs of Brahms' chamber work.



The playing on this is beautifully natural and unselfconscious. The phrases are shaped with natural instincts and nothing is overplayed or missed. Since this is now on the budget Helios label, I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Brahms in particular and Romantic period chamber music in general."