Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence

Five Stars for the Carlock-Combet Duo’s Romantic Violin Sonatas

Classica Magazine’s Laure Dautriche gives ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to the Carlock-Combet Duo’s new Romantic Violin Sonatas recording:

“It’s not easy to make one’s mark in works which are such firm favourites in the romantic repertoire for violin and piano. However, violinist Guillaume Combet and pianist Sandra Carlock, a Duo resident in the United States, succeed in impressing us with constant insights from beginning to end. Guillaume Combet, an old pupil of Gérard Poulet at the Paris Conservatoire, holds our interest from the start of the 2nd Schumann Sonata by his rich, captivating sound. One also notes the two artists’ reluctance to give in to romantic excess. The tempo is always stable. In the third movement, which begins with pizzicatos, we can hear each separate note, and not as is often the case, as part of a chord. Original and effective.

In the Schubert Sonata D574, their colour palette is generous and rich. This mixture of ardour and lightness is particularly evident in the final Allegro vivace. Their interpretation is without sleight of hand and remains perfectly faithful to the music, especially the nuances. Finally, in the third Grieg Sonata the same qualities are evident. Perfect technique, fidelity to the music, impeccable articulation both in the violin as well as the piano. Although frequently recorded, these pieces immerse us in a totally new atmosphere.”

—Lare Dautriche, Classica (translated by Siva Oke)