Fiona Maddocks 

Brahms, Schubert, Franck: Sonatas for Viola & Piano, Vol 2 – review

The dream team of Tabea Zimmermann and Kirill Gerstein brilliantly transform three great sonatas, writes Fiona Maddocks
  
  


These revered chamber musicians, the German viola player Tabea Zimmermann and the Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein, have chosen these three sonatas with immense care: each was written late in the composer's life, each originally composed for an instrument other than the viola. Brahms's F minor Sonata (for clarinet) exploits the darkest colours and lowest range of the viola, and suits its yearning mood, especially in the hands of a duo who have already recorded the companion E flat Sonata. The lyricism of Schubert's Arpeggione (for the six-stringed, cello-like instrument) and the melodic generosity of the Franck (originally for violin) gain new vigour in these fiery performances.

 

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