Johannes Brahms - The Violin Sonatas (Mark Kaplan; David Kaplan)

Information

Composer: Johannes Brahms

• Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78
• Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
• Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108

Mark Kaplan, violin

David Kaplan, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Orchid Classics

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This debut recording of Brahms’s three violin sonatas marks a unique, generational collaboration between world-renowned violinist Mark Kaplan and his son, the critically acclaimed pianist David Kaplan. Balancing the close, egalitarian dialogue between violin and piano inherent in Brahms’s writing, the duo brings decades of combined artistic insight to these core chamber works. Together, they expertly navigate the emotional trajectory of the cycle, tracing a path from the inward lyricism of the G major Sonata, Op. 78, and the expansive warmth of the A major, Op. 100, to the tempestuous, dramatic landscape of the D minor Sonata, Op. 108.

American violinist Mark Kaplan, born in 1953, is a distinguished soloist, recording artist, and professor at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, having previously taught at UCLA. A Juilliard graduate who studied under Dorothy DeLay, Kaplan has built an extensive international career performing with major orchestras throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. He performs on the historic 1685 "Marquis" Stradivarius violin. Kaplan has passed on his musical legacy to his two sons: Edwin, a violist in the Tesla Quartet, and David, a concert pianist and UCLA faculty member.