Francescatti & Casadesus - Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas

These 2 patrician French musicians were leading lights at American Columbia from the 1940s until well into the 1960s. During World War II, violinist Zino Francescatti and pianist Robert Casadesus began performing as a duo, they were both also collaborators with Ravel early in the careers, The first of their Beethoven recordings - made in mono between 1949 and 1957 in New York, comprised Nos. 3-9. A remake, this time the complete cycle, was recorded in stereo in Paris in 1958 and 1961. Now Sony Classical is reissuing all of these performances in a single 7-CD box set

All of their recordings of Beethoven violin sonatas were held in the highest critical esteem. The mono recordings earned special praise from Gramophone in the UK for expressiveness without undue romanticism and from High Fidelity in the US for an equality between the two musicians not often found in recordings of these works. Similar plaudits for the stereo versions, Gramophone commending Francescatti's "cool, relaxed ease and sweet tone in the "Spring" Sonata ... Casadesus is wonderfully good, too ... The playing is effortless and relaxed in the true chamber music way ... The entire set - flawlessly well articulated, cleanly reproduced, and with every element of Beethoven's writing meticulously set into proper perspective - can be highly recommended."