Gidon Kremer, Valery Afanassiev - Schubert: Works for Violin and Piano (1999)

Gidon Kremer and Valery Afanassiev enter a hotly contested area with this new release of works for violin and piano by Schubert, and they emerge as clear leaders in the field. All of their rivals do, of course, offer fine, if not always totally sympathetic accounts of these works, but with the exception of Isaac Stern and Daniel Barenboim, none can approach the Russian duo in terms of their stylistic awareness and affinity with the hidden aspects of the Schubertian genre.
The Sonata (Duo) in A, D574, dates from 1817 and is arguably the most frequently performed of Schubert's surviving works for this combination. Kremer and Afanassiev imbue this outwardly traditional work with a special charm and sense of proportion whilst remaining utterly attuned to its formal requirements, wisely observing the exposition repeat in the first movement. The vitality and freshness of invention of the Scherzo and final Allegro vivace are similarly realized with great flair, although these artists do miss some of the poise which is so evident with Stern and Barenboim.
The B minor Rondo brillant, D895 and the substantial Fantasy in C, D934, date from a decade later. They were both intended for the Czech violinist Josef Slavic, who had settled in Vienna during 1826. Although the Great C major Symphony had been recently completed, Schubert had attracted little recognition, except as a composer of Lieder, and neither of these works for violin found favour at the time. Kremer finds more sheer substance in the Rondo than Stern, and reveals its emotional sympathies with the darker aspects of works like the Unfinished Symphony, also in B minor. However, this new release is crowned by a magnificent account of the C major Fantasy, in which both players demonstrate technical brilliance, and an astonishing range of imaginative coloration, as in the skittish Allegretto—surely a melody of which Paganini might have been proud! The Theme and variations are, again, full of charm and under-statement, whilst the performance is concluded with a mercurial final Allegro.
Although Joseph Swensen (RCA) and Lydia Mordkovitch (Chandos) are clearly admirable players, neither seems to capture the real essence of these works quite like Stern and Barenboim, whose integral recording of these compositions appears on Sony Classical. The new DG release with Kremer and the expert Afanassiev at the piano has something more, however, with its absolutely credible sense of proportion, wit and delight in the music, allied to the highly distinguished technical skills of these players. With the added advantage of superior recorded sound, this release represents a clear first choice in this repertoire.