Brahms; Debussy; Shostakovich: Cello Sonatas, etc – review

Sol Gabetta and Hélène Grimaud are by no means an established cello-and-piano partnership, but they do share a record label and made their debut as a duo last year. In fact their quixotic musical personalities do match; there's a lightness of touch and an element of spontaneityin Gabetta's playing that corresponds to the impulsive aspects of Grimaud's pianism, and their performances of both the Debussy Sonata and Schumann's Op 73 Fantasiestücke revel in that quicksilver agility, even if it occasionally becomes a bit of an affectation. Curiously, though, it's the most strait-laced work here, Brahms E minor Sonata Op 38, that benefits most; textures are transparent, climaxes never become overpowering, giving the music a buoyancy that seems very fresh. You wouldn't always want Brahms like this, but it's still worthwhile.