Brahms: Violin Sonatas album review – Ehnes and Armstrong’s performances exude an effortless rightness

Ehnes/Armstrong
(Seattle Chamber Music Society)
The Canadian violinist and American pianist – musical partners for over three decades – bring assurance and grace to these three violin sonatas written by Brahms in his creative prime.

Written between 1879 and 1888, Brahms’s three violin sonatas are the work of a man in his creative prime. Between them, they cover a considerable emotional span, from the lyrical, ultimately wistful G major with its rain-dappled finale to the structural complexities of the fiery D minor. The central A major sonata, good natured yet intimate, is one of the composer’s sunniest and most endearing works.

James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong met in Winnipeg in 1991 when the Canadian violinist was 15 years old and the American pianist was 17. The longevity of their partnership pays dividends here in performances that exude an effortless rightness. In the opening of the G major, Armstrong is the wind beneath Ehnes’s wings, the two musicians in artistic lockstep, even if the recorded sound favours the brightness of the violin. Pacing is assured, phrasing shapely. The gently pattering finale, with Ehnes’s graceful double-stopping, suggests remembrances of times past.