Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, or PatKop to her fans, and pianist Fazil Say have for some years united periodically for performances and recordings, often of a distinctly unconventional tinge. This release, featuring violin sonatas by Janacek, Brahms, and Bartok, is no exception; the three works are landmarks of the late 19th century and early 20th century repertory (the Bartok Violin Sonata No. 1, a bit less familiar than the others), but Kopatchinskaja and Say absolutely do not retread previous performances. Their most unorthodox interpretation here comes in the Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108, where Kopatchinskaja largely adopts a dreamy, floaty tone punctuated by rather harsh outbursts; she generally avoids vibrato. One might say she puts a modernist, sometimes Impressionist edge on Brahms, and whatever one thinks of this, it is not something anyone else has done. The Violin Sonata of Janacek is perhaps the duo's least successful outing here; the sense of psychological urgency that animates the best Janacek is missing, and Kopatchinskaja misses the mystery in the artless tunes that appear in the middle of the slow movement and the finale. In the Bartok, however, Kopatchinskaja is in her element, catching Bartok's rather savage quality. Consider the explosive violin sforzandos that punctuate the finale. Whatever one's ultimate reaction to the album, Say's ability to keep up with Kopatchinskaja's free tempos is impressive, and the performance represents chamber playing at a very high level. Alpha's Teldex Studio sound is another big draw on an album that made classical best-seller charts in early 2023. ~ James Manheim