After tackling the sonatas for violin and piano of Bach, Busoni and Beethoven in 2017 – a “thoughtfully determined and subtly interconnected programme” according to Strad magazine –, the duo of Yuuko Shiokawa and András Schiff returns with striking renditions of Brahms’s Violin Sonata No. 1 and Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 2. Brahms’s First Violin Sonata in G major, known as the “Regenliedsonate” (Rain Sonata)”, is presented in a lush interpretation and stands in evocative juxtaposition with Schumann’s at times vigorously driving Sonata in D minor. Devoting themselves completely to the music of these close composer-friends, Shiokawa and Schiff once again display their own rare duo understanding throughout this third joint undertaking for ECM’s New Series. The album was produced by Manfred Eicher.
