The Dutch violin and piano duo of
Jeroen de Groot and Bernd Brackman's debut release consists of two discs -- the first featuring sonatas by
Debussy,
Poulenc, and
Ravel and the second featuring encores by everyone from
Kreisler to Sarasate to
Waxman. Although
de Groot and Brackman's playing is consistently remarkable, this release is only half a success. De Groot is clearly a virtuoso violinist of immense strength, Brackman is just as clearly an accomplished pianist of wonderful sensitivity, and together they play as if they've known each other since childhood. But while their playing is impressive, their interpretations are only half impressive. In the encores,
de Groot's extravagant technique and Brackman's extraordinary enthusiasm are right at home. There's nothing the composers can throw at him that
de Groot can't play and there's nowhere
de Groot can go that Brackman can't follow. In the sonatas, however,
de Groot's attack is too muscular in fortes, his tone is too raw on the G string, and his intonation is too strident above the staff, while Brackman's sonorities are too rich in tuttis, his pedaling is too thick in mezzo-fortes, and his left hand is too weighty most of the time. More significantly,
de Groot and Brackman's interpretations seem skewed too far to the extrovert, pouring too much explicit passion into
Debussy's sonata, pushing too much obvious subjectivity onto
Ravel's sonata, and pulling too much overt tragedy out of
Poulenc's sonata. While the encores are well worth hearing, it might be more edifying to hear
de Groot and Brackman perform the burly Brahms or brawny
Prokofiev's sonatas. Preiser's sound is loud and clear, but a bit too close.