Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op. 102

“Despite Vadim Repin's formidable reputation as a Brahms interpreter, his recording of the Violin Concerto will doubtless prove controversial in some quarters. The glamour and majesty of his playing leap out at you from every phrase; this is a performance on the grandest of scales, full of high drama and extravagant rhetorical gestures. Conducted by Riccardo Chailly, it's also notably slow. The dividends are enormous in the second half: the adagio has great nobility, while the finale is weighty and detailed as well as virtuosic. The first movement, however, has a ponderous quality that reinforces old-fashioned views of Brahms's music as being stately. Its companion piece is the Double Concerto, in which Repin and Chailly are joined by Norwegian cellist Truls Mork. This is a wonderful performance, and certainly the more consistent of the two. Chailly's conducting has cragginess as well as grandeur, while Repin and Mork are thrilling and tender. Recommended - though if you prefer the Violin Concerto done with more intimacy, you need to look elsewhere.” The Guardian, 13th February 2009

“…Chailly… conveys wonderfully well the epic quality of the huge opening tutti. Repin relishes the work's moments of delicacy as much as the declamatory ones. Nothing is ever effortful: even the tortuous double-stopping seems to leave him entirely unfazed.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2009

“Vadim Repin's performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto have met with much press acclaim, and one sees why. His dazzling technique aside, the firm, warm tone, magnificent control of phrasing and rhythmic incisiveness are all tailor-made for the piece. ...Riccardo Chailly's direction of the Gewandhausorchester is with him all the way. Repin is joined by Truls Mørk for an equally memorable account of the Double Concerto. ...the warmth and skill they bring the Andante, characterising their instruments as the two protagonists of an intimate dialogue, makes this the high-point of the disc.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2009 *****

“Julia Fischer and Daniel Müller-Schott deliver a blisteringly intense performance” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007

“The partnership of Julia Fischer and Yakov Kreizberg… really comes into its own in the symphonic proportions of Brahms's Violin Concerto. From Fischer's opening imposing entry, it's clear that Kreizberg and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra are at one with her every nuance and tempo fluctuation - dramatic, fiery and impetuous at first but then beautifully lyrical and introverted in the second idea. ...the Double Concerto... Fischer and her partner Daniel Müller-Schott are absolutely on the same musical wavelength delivering a blisteringly intense performance supported by outstandingly responsive playing from the Netherlands Philharmonic.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007 *****

“…Julia Fischer offers this ideal Brahms coupling in strong and sympathetic readings, joined in the Double Concerto by her brilliant young compatriot cellist, Daniel Müller-Schott. Her performance never feels self-conscious or too studied and her range of tone and dynamic is extreme, bringing pianissimi of breathtaking delicacy. ...in the finale she lets the tempo relax just enough to allow a persuasive spring in the rhythms, bringing out the Hungarian dance flavour.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2007

“..the Double Concerto one of the most beautiful and idiomatic readings on disc in recent years.” Sunday Times ****

‘In the Brahms, Oistrakh and Fournier make an incomparable team. The eloquence of Fournier’s phrasing and Oistrakh’s golden tone are beyond praise. Helped by a first-class recording and excellent orchestral playing, Oistrakh’s performance of the Bruch is a winner.’ (The Gramophone)

“Janos Starker projects mastery and imagination throughout... a full, lush Brahmsian sound” Classics Today