BRAHMS Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3

“[a] beautifully balanced performance, and the warmth and intimacy of the recording is an excellent match.” --CD Review, 5th September 2015

“Melnikov’s 1875 Bösendorfer piano sounds splendidly grainy, transparent and powerful, often overwhelming Faust’s gut-stringed violin in Brahms’s louder moments, but blending ideally in the elegiac slow movements.” --The Guardian, 27th September 2015 ***

“Enthralling, lovely performances.” --Gramophone Magazine, October 2015

BBC Music Magazine Chamber Choice - November 2015

“The first Brahms sonata recorded by Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov on period instruments made a big impression...Melnikov’s 1875 Bösendorfer piano sounds splendidly grainy, transparent and powerful, often overwhelming Faust’s gut-stringed violin in Brahms’s louder moments, but blending ideally in the elegiac slow movements.” --The Observer, 27th September 2015 ***

“Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov (playing an 1875 Bösendorfer) make a strong case for the work as a whole, though even their impassioned advocacy can’t quite save Dietrich’s opening movement from sounding long- winded. In Brahms’s Second and Third Violin Sonatas, the players’ sound world may be a little too muscularly lean for some tastes. Still, the musical argument is always lucid.” --Irish Times, 21st October 2015