Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Violin and Viola Sonatas

At the edges of the world With their new GENUIN CD, the Duo TschoppBovino is presenting something you don't come across every day - two musicians on three instruments! Miriam Tschopp features successively as both violinist and violist in Dmitri Shostakovich's two late sonatas. Maybe this is why she and her piano partner Riccardo Bovino play with such incredible unity? The spectral sounds of the slow movements and relentless marcatos of the fast movements are guaranteed to give us goose bumps. Listening to them, it is no wonder that Shostakovich occupies a totally unique position in 20th century music - at the edges of the speakable and tangible, at the edges of the world of sound...
American Record Guide, September/October 2016
I enjoyed these performances. Two recording are so outstanding that they completely eclipse their competitors. For the Violin Sonata, Sergey and Lusine Khachatryan are peerless (J/A 2008). They find the mood of each section and even each note with a perception and precision that are breathtaking. For the Viola Sonata, Yuri Bashmet and Sviatoslav Richter play as though hypnotized by the music (J/A 1998). It is interesting that the performers of the Viola Sonata knew Shostakovich personally, and the performers of the Violin Sonata were members of the last generation to grow up in the Soviet Union. Those two recordings are among the greatest of any music ever made and are mandatory acquisitions for anyone devoted to the composer.