Kopatchinskaja/Say: Beethoven etc (Naive V5146)

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and pianist Fazil Say give a dazzling account of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No 9 “kreutze”. The couple’s take on Ravel’s Violin sonata in G major is edgy and accomplished. The album is rounded off with Say’s own violin sonata, brilliantly played by the composer.

Chopin: Alessandra Ammara 4 Ballades etc (Arts Music 47696-2) Some of the finest piano music from the Romantic era is given superb reading by Italian pianist Alessandra Ammara. Poetic and expressive, the maturity of her playing belies her youth. Recommended.

Shostakovich: Schnittke (Ambroisie AM168) Pianist Markus Hadulla and violist Antoine Tamestit, backed by the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Dmitrij Kitajenko perform two lesserknown works from the Russian repertoire.

Tamestit chooses the Alfred Schnittke Concerto for Viola and Orchestra because it changed his life when he won the Munich Viola Competition playing the piece. Then it’s Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano. Clear and incisive performances from both artists.