Yang/Schwabe/Dt So/Wit - Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto Op.77, Double Concerto Op. 102

Brahms� string concertos are indissolubly linked with the musicians for whom the works were written. He wrote the Violin Concerto for Joseph Joachim and in it he combined what a contemporary critic termed �the great and serious� with songful lyricism, melodic beauty, and a fiery Hungarian finale. To mend a breach with the violinist, Brahms later composed a concerto with the unusual combination of violin and cello, the latter played at the premiere by Joachim�s colleague Robert Hausmann. Neither instrument dominates in a work of reconciliation that perfectly embodies both drama and reflection. Schwabe�s debut Naxos recording features Brahms� cello sonatas and song transcriptions released in 2015, with pianist Nicholas Rimmer (8.573489). Tianwa Yang�s most recent recording project involved the works for violin and orchestra by Wolfgang Rihm.