Music for viola (Incls Sonata in B flat major for Viola and Piano)

"The music is less than top class, but we do get wonderful viola playing from Imai

I've somewhat contradictory reactions to this disc: great enthusiasm for the playing – but a realisation that Reger's music, for all its inventiveness and mastery of form, doesn't do much for me. Hearing Nobuko Imai, one regrets that the viola has never become a familiar recital instrument alongside the violin and cello: she's the equal of any string player, yet presents the viola as a unique instrumental voice. The reason, of course, is that the viola lacks the extensive repertory of Classical and Romantic masterpieces enjoyed by cellists and violinists.
Reger's Op 107 was, like the two similar works by Brahms, composed as a clarinet sonata. The viola alternative makes a particularly strong impact in the middle movements – the stormy Vivace with its slow, gloomy middle section, and the harmonically rich, extravagantly lyrical Adagio. Ronald Brautigam balances his chords wonderfully well in what could sound like an excessively thick piano part, achieving clarity as well as a wholehearted, passionate delivery.

The suites for unaccompanied viola represent another balancing act. The presence of Bach is felt throughout, yet Reger skilfully avoids any feeling that he's writing pastiche, taking Bach's chromatic inflections a little bit further, or making the phrases longer, more expansive and intense. It's not exactly virtuoso music, but Imai's stature is revealed in her beautifully exact double stopping, perfect rhythmic poise, and the way she searches out and presents the true character of each piece. Great viola playing!"
(Gramophone)