Viktoria Mullova, Bruno Canino - Bach - Sonatas for Violin & Piano (1993)

The pellucid simplicity of Bruno Canino's pianoplaying is the perfect partner for the fine silver of Viktoria Mullova's violin playing. Here it is at its most refined, even its most austere. The Adagio of the B minor Sonata contains absolutely nothing extraneous to a perception of the melody's own contours: no gloss of dynamic or movement, just a sense of totally secure accomplishment, sophisticated timbre and phrasing.
There is much to admire on close—or even not so close—analysis: the A minor Sonata's Allegro glancing off the bow and off the beat, and the plucking piano accompaniment moving in to share in the glassy violin melody. The G major Sonata reveals a new robustness, a richness of tone in the sudden forays into the lower register; and Canino's solo invention in the central Allegro is a delight.