A new release from Roméo Records offers the Three Violin Sonatas of Brahms, performed by violinist Raphael Ryger and pianist Madeleine Forte. The recording of the First Sonata was made in performance at First Presbyterian Church of New Haven, CT, in May of 2026. The remaining works were recorded at Mulberry Recital Hall, Hamden, CT, in August, 2026 (Sonata No. 2), and January of that same year (No. 3). The artists collectively bring over a century of experience and achievement to these renditions. Madeleine Forte (b. September 20, 1938), a student of Alfred Cortot, Wilhelm Kempff, Rosina Lhévinne, and Martin Canin, is a distinguished concert artist, educator and scholar. Raphael Ryger counts among his teachers and mentors Josef Gingold, Ilona Feher, Dorothy Delay, and Isaac Stern. Ryger has been a member of Orchestra New England since 1982, and commencing in 1988, its concertmaster.

The performances benefit from the artists’ lifetime of musical exploration. Ryger and Forte are superb collaborators, unfailingly receptive to each other and to Brahms’s genius. The synchronicity and balance that Ryger and Forte achieve—whether in articulation, phrasing, volume, or tonal color—is of the highest order. Both play with utmost tonal beauty and warmth, lyricism, and a marvelous flexibility at the heart of Brahms’s Romantic expression. Likewise, Ryger’s subtle and effective use of portamento is both apt and welcome. For the better part, the Brahms Violin Sonatas are lyrical, introspective works that fit the artists’ sensitive and imaginative approach. But in more tempestuous moments like the finale of the Third Sonata, Ryger and Forte likewise rise to the occasion with fiery, volatile energy. These are masterful, fulfilling interpretations on every level. The recorded sound for all three works is quite fine, with some applause at the conclusion of No. 1. A most treasurable recording.

Ken Meltzer

Five Stars: Marvelous recordings of the Brahms Violin Sonatas with Raphael Ryger and Madeleine Forte