The duo is undoubtedly the most intimate form of chamber music-making. The musicologist Antal Molnár aptly goes so far as to call the violin-piano playing a “spiritual communion”. The two composers featured on the album, Schumann and Brahms, are unquestionably giants of the chamber music literature. The Drei Romanzen and Fantasiestücke are striking proof of Schumann’s overflowing imagination and inexhaustible musical invention. Meanwhile, Brahms’s affection-filled Sonata in A major is one of the most popular works of the composer regarded as the “Schumann successor.” The performer is therefore not in an easy position, as their task is nothing less than making these works “valid” in the 21st century. This can mean nothing other than a continuous questioning of the self-evident, and simultaneously, illuminating with the vertigo of reality instead of repeating well-worn clichés. In this case, “reality” can mean nothing else but the perfect experiencing of the moment, of the present tense—a kind of constant readiness. The uniqueness of this recording lies in the fact that the album’s performers form a “duo” in real life as well, so this first collaborative album is a long-cherished dream come true.

László Borbély – piano
Anna Várföldi – violin