Anne-Sophie Mutter first recorded these sonatas over a quarter century ago (at the age of nineteen) for EMI. Mutter’s return to this repertoire here naturally shows greater maturity, but also greater nuance and musicality. In the A major, the violinist reveals a tempered strength that buoys the opening theme, followed by playful interplay in the Andante before a more majesterial finale. The celebrated D minor is, while at times soaring, ultimately a more delicate creature. In the Presto, Mutter achieves, through alternating scrappy bridgework and shy attack, a pleasing variety of tones, with a pizzicato as sonorous as acoustic guitar. She imbues the quiet and personal G major with comfort and a soft touch. Throughout, the violinist is warmly complemented by pianist Lambert Orkis’s flowing lines and thoughtfully voiced accords. -- Ben Finane, Listen Magazine Never before have Mutter and Orkis seemed so joined at the hip, giving and taking, conducting dialogue, chasing each others' thoughts... She plays with a new degree of maturity and depth, especially visible in the slow movements. The disc's high point is the adagio from the first sonata, in G major, where Mutter's gold thread is reduced to a dusky murmur before shifting through tones as subtle as they are various. Orkis's contribution is equally vital, whether keeping pace with limpid filigree or, at the close, pedalling up a penumbra of resonance to balance Mutter's whispers. Magical music-making, this. Throughout, speeds and dynamics are controlled with regard for the music's inner substance, not its outward show. A masterly issue... -- Geoff Brown, The London Times Works on This Recording 1. Sonata for Violin and Piano no 1 in G major, Op. 78 by Johannes Brahms ■ Performer: Anne-Sophie Mutter (Violin), Lambert Orkis (Piano) ■ Period: Romantic ■ Written: 1878-1879; Austria 2. Sonata for Violin and Piano no 2 in A major, Op. 100 by Johannes Brahms ■ Performer: Anne-Sophie Mutter (Violin), Lambert Orkis (Piano) ■ Period: Romantic ■ Written: 1886; Austria 3. Sonata for Violin and Piano no 3 in D minor, Op. 108 by Johannes Brahms ■ Performer: Anne-Sophie Mutter (Violin), Lambert Orkis (Piano) ■ Period: Romantic ■ Written: 1886-1888; Austria