Brahms and Schumann on period instruments! The ones used here, an unaltered Stradivarius cello and an 1892 Steinway, aren't so different from "modern" instruments, but they do help the players achieve good balance in the Brahms Sonatas, where the piano can easily swamp the cello unless both performers are very careful about balance. These performances aren't as all-out exciting as some of the best modern celebrity performances, but they generate plenty of impulse and give us a different, highly valid perspective on the music. —Leslie Gerber

The idea of Brahms on "period instruments" may seem strange, since the instruments of his time were nearly the same as ours. This ensemble, though, has gone far beyond the use of gut strings, to produce a warmer, less brilliant sound than what we have come to expect from modern ensembles. They have investigated the period and have decided to play Brahms faster, and with lighter textures, than we are used to hearing today. - -Leslie Gerber