The violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms are some of the most commonly played works of the genre. They display the bitter-sweet side of Brahms for which the music world adores him. The Sonata in G major is the astute yet sensuous outburst of a musician who has the world at his feet and who experiences his life profoundly, yet effusively and enthusiastically. Brahms' friend Elisabeth von Herzogenberg wrote about the second sonata: "The notes become ever warmer, ever more purple." This piece, too, is an expression of joyful and dreamy rapture. By way of complete contrast, the third Sonata in D minor, composed back in the Meister's developmental years, paints an almost sombre picture depicting the melancholy of a friendless soul. The rich palette of expression which this music draws upon is brought alive in an interpretation which permits shades of sensibility which are only very seldom heard.
"The Alois Kottmann / Günter Ludwig partnership is based on an extremely high degree of intelligence. In Brahms' Sonata in G major the duo eschews all traces of hackneyed virtuosity and showiness, a decision which gives the work a chamber-music sensibility. Also impressive in terms of musicianship and intelligence is the Sonata in D minor from Robert Schumann. Here it is the intensive interaction of the two artists which grips - the seriousness and the unconditional nature of their playing." NEUE RHEINZEITUNG
