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Title: The auspicious start to an important series
Review: MDG's series of the complete Hindemith sonatas is one of the most important recording projects the last 20 years, and is as such curiously overlooked. And for anyone interested in sampling this composers vast output of solo sonatas, this is a near-ideal release; the works are all rather early Hindemith, but also Hindemith at his warmest and most immediately appealing. Stylistically, the works are surprisingly varied (at least for belonging to the same opus number), from the spicily dissonant, neo-classical cello sonata to the generally sunny, untroubled viola sonata containing genuinely memorable, almost romantic, melodies.It is possible, I guess, to find competitive, maybe even superior, alternative performances, but no one will be disappointed with these accounts - indeed, the performances are all on a very high level, and the recording is excellent. Definitely recommended.
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