Browse: Shostakovich - Violin Sonata, Op. 134

his lightning switches of tempo and mood in the fast movement outdo most competitors for bizarrerie...Melnikov includes a searing, thrilling account of Shostakovich's late Violin Sonata, Op.... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2012, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Both sonatas receive superb performances from the duo of violinist Franziska Pietsch and pianist Josu de Solaun. The Strauss is played with arresting virtuosity, rich and vibrant tone, and imaginative... — Fanfare, March/April 2020 More…

This warmly engineered live performance positively bristles with atmosphere and conviction. Leila Josefowicz projects a sense of narrative in the solo part, nowhere more convincingly realised... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2006, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Given Ugorskaja’s tendency to rapt introspection at leisurely tempos I was initially taken aback by the duo’s focused take on these David Oistrakh-inspired works. The Prokofiev comes first in... — Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2020 More…

Composed in 1947, a year before the notorious Zhdanov condemnation of leading Soviet composers, Weinberg's works reflect an unsettling landscape manifested most obviously in the central section... — BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007, 4 out of 5 stars More…

The two Russian singers deliver very expressive accounts of the vocal works, Nadja Smirnov in particular effecting a beautiful lyricism in the Blok cycle. Of the two extended instrumental works,... — BBC Music Magazine, September 2004, 4 out of 5 stars More…