Akiko Suwanai and Evgeni Bozhanov in Brahms

I have known and loved Brahms' three sonatas for violin and piano for over seven decades now, and they have entered the canon of works that are, maybe, just too familiar. When I listen to them again, it is predominantly the violin playing that interests me, since I know the music back to front. I have 49 different recordings of the three sonatas; my highly subjective three stars have gone to: Ning Feng, Marie Cantagrill, Gerhard Taschner, Lisa Batiashvili, Boris Goldstein, Arthur Grumiaux (two different recordings),

The 49th recording I have just added comes from Akiko Suwanai, a violinist I greatly love and respect. She is a very sane player, playing music she has known and loved for many decades now. Her pianist here is an unknown Bulgar, Evgeni Bozhanov.

Akiko is her usual intelligent, accurate and admirable self, and I give her three stars; her playing in the slow movement of the third sonata is particularly lovely and intelligent. I give Johannes Brahms three stars for the music. I knock one star off of the new recording as a whole, because the pianist annoys me and seems to believe he is the star of the show. I found him often distracting, particularly his staccato playing. No need to go to the extremes of Heifetz with Emanuel Bay, where the pianist is a discreet background support. But also no need for the pianist to attempt to hog the limelight; I listen to this music for the music and for the violinist. Not for the piano part.