Press
Review
Jennifer Koh
Schumann Sonatas
Cedille
By Steven Winn
San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, April 15, 2007
original link
Schumann's three sonatas for violin and piano are full of handsome, open-hearted music that deserves to be better known. Violinist Jennifer Koh and pianist Reiko Uchida make a strong case for these three minor-key works, in lyrical, taut and mutually responsive performances. The expansive and eventful Sonata No. 2 in D Minor is the main attraction. The outer movements have a surging inventiveness that brings out the best in this team. The sonata's sweet slow movement, however, comes a bit tentatively. Koh and Uchida share an instinct for emphatic declaration throughout. Themes are strikingly stated and developed with a lean, driving elegance. In the teasing Allegretto of the first sonata and a short, songlike Intermezzo in the third, they also exhibit a flair for irony and wit.
© 2007 San Francisco Chronicle