Our Recording of the Month for January 2022 is an effervescent and idiosyncratic disc of duos for violin and cello by long-time friends and colleagues Patricia Kopatchinskaya and Sol Gabetta. Centred around substantial masterpieces of the form by Ravel and Kodály, it includes Bach and Leclair as well as more modernist music by Ligeti and Widmann (who even manages to riff on the James Bond theme). “Seldom have two idiosyncratic talents combined with such wit and artistry,” writes Michael Quin, describing it as a “duo recital re-cast as a jugglers-on-a-high-wire circus act, with a dash of clowning adding colour to the excitement.” Clive Paget caught up with them on tour to talk about what makes a perfect partnership, the challenges of playing together, and rethinking the recital.

Can I start by asking how long have you known each other, and when did you first start to work together?

Patricia: Around 20 years I would say. We met in a house concert. Sol asked me to play in Zurich with her in some piano trios, it was...