Album: Brahms/Schumann/Schumann, Sonatas and Romances – Jennifer Pike/Tom Poster (Chandos)

The violinist's interpretation of Brahms's Sonata in G presents the young composer as a hungry outsider in the marriage of Robert and Clara Schumann.

Her phrasing beautifully shadowed by pianist Tom Poster, Pike delivers a performance of strident purity – perhaps a little too strident for the intimate dialogue of Schumann's A minor Sonata. In Clara Schumann's Three Romances, Pike finally relaxes into the melodic curves without losing bite. It's worth the wait.