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Harriet Smith compares recordings of Schubert's Fantasy in C, D934, for violin and piano. It's a piece which baffled its audience when it was premiered in 1828, because it was much longer and more complexly structured than the conservative Viennese audience was used to. Despite using a recognisable melody of one of Schubert's own songs in its central variation movement, a contemporary review remarked that the piece took rather more time and concentration than "a Viennese is prepared to devote to pleasures of the mind." Great virtuosity is required from both violin and piano, so which duo of performers will come out on top? Recommended recording: Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov Schubert - Duos for piano & violin SCHUBERT: Fantasie in C major for violin and piano, D934; Grand Duo for Violin and Piano in A Major, D574; Rondo brillant in B minor, D895 (Op. 70) Isabelle Faust (violin), Alexander Melnikov (piano) HARMONIA MUNDI HMC901870 (CD) Other recommended recordings: Below is a shortlist of other recordings which Harriet Smith also liked, although we can’t guarantee the availability of these discs. Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cedric Tiberghien (piano) HYPERION CDA67911/2 (2CD) Adolf Busch (violin), Rudolf Serkin (piano) APR APR5543 (CD)