MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ireland: Violin Sonatas

"Such was the critical acclaim that greeted the March 1917 premiere of Ireland's Second Violin Sonata that the 37-year-old composer's reputation was cemented virtually overnight. The performers on that momentous occasion were the legendary Albert Sammons and pianist William Murdoch.
Some 13 years later Sammons finally set down his thoughts on this glorious music with Ireland himself at the piano. Quite why this valuable document never saw the light of day until now is a mystery, so all gratitude to Dutton for granting a long overdue lease of life to a nobly spacious rendering of such palpable feeling and insight.
As for the First Violin Sonata, Frederick Grinke's 1945 Decca recording (again with the composer) continues to strike as, quite simply, the most perceptive interpretation of this early offering ever encountered, possessing a compelling sweep and tingling concentration that grip from first measure to last. The November 1938 recording of the Phantasie Trio is yet another cherishable display, the playing wonderfully alive and always radiating a most winning understanding and spontaneity." Gramophone