Davit Melkonyan, Mikayel Balyan - Brahms: Cello Sonatas (2014)

This disc gives us the two cello sonatas that Brahms wrote, Opus 38, and Opus 99. As the distance between the opus numbers suggests, one is fairly early in the composer's work (1862, to 1965), and the second one is rather later (1886). Though the second, later sonata evidences a deepening and intensification of his music, the first sonata is by no means a callow piece. Brahms was said to be inspired to write a cello sonata because he was studying the cello in his twenties, or thereabouts.

That he returned to a second effort, some twenty or so years afterward, may testify to his sense that he still had more to say in the duo-sonata medium. While the first sonata falls into the characteristic three movements; the final one has five movements, as does the richly mature second piano concerto.

Our pianist is Wolfgang Manz. He was the keyboard soloist on the label's two recordings of the piano concertos; and his way with Brahms is muscular, clear, direct - rather recalling to my ears the great Wilhelm Backhaus. Our cello soloist is Emil Klein. He's done several discs for the label, as cello soloist, and as leader of a chamber ensemble based in Hamburg.