Violin Sonata in A major

César Franck

Violin, Piano

Augustin Dumay, Jean-Philippe Collard

1989 Digitally recorded.

Gil's top recommendation. A French duo that has the full measure of this music. A really spot-on interpretation, with beautiful phrasing and drama.

Kaja Danczowska, Krystian Zimerman

1980

More of a shimmery, pristine quality. Not as overtly emotive, but it shows another side of the piece, where the beauty of the writing comes through directly.

Kyung Wha Chung, Radu Lupu

A classic version. More lushly and romantically played, perhaps a bit quicker. A very natural, unaffected interpretation with beautiful playing.

David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter

1968 Live recording.

Two giants of interpretation. An almost emotionally draining performance that is really priceless.

Jacques Thibaud, Alfred Cortot

1929 Historic recording.

The old classic French duo. Fantastic despite the old sound. They offer unassailable interpretive insights and the emotion is brought forth powerfully.