Thea King and Clifford Benson, issued last year, are now challenged by Gervase de Peyer and Gwenneth Pryor, whose Chandos recording I prefer to the earlier Hyperion release chiefly because of its warmer and more truthful reproduction of the piano. On musical grounds honours are divided: choice, yet again, is very much a matter of personal taste. Some people may prefer de Peyer's suaver, rounder tone to Thea King's reedier sound. From him the instrument's differently coloured registers emerge merged rather than contrasted as from King, with her reminders of ''woodnotes wild''. Gervase de Peyer's phrasing, like his tone, is also a little more liquid, so that the Brahms we meet from the newcomers is less of a countryman than the composer presented by King and Benson.
Though tempo differences are only small, I prefer the newcomers' slightly faster finales: there is a touch more rhythmic vitality from them in the F minor Sonata's concluding Vivace and an easier flow in the E flat Sonata's final variations. They are again a little faster in the F minor's third movement (Allegretto grazioso) and the E flat's central Allegro appassionata, in consequence of which their phrasing has more lilt. Incidentally, like King and Benson they opt for a drastic slowing down in this latter movement's trio section in response to Brahms's requested sostenuto, though from them it seems a little less portly because of Pryor's more singing right-hand melody. In all the remaining movements the newcomers are marginally slower than King and Benson. In the First Sonata's second movement (Andante un poco adagio) this enables de Peyer to sound a slightly more introspective note, though some listeners may prefer King's stricter time-keeping. First movements are excellent from both teams in their not so very different ways. If forced to make a choice, in close comparison, I think it would have to be in favour of the finely attuned and balanced de Peyer and Pryor, though heard on its own the King and Benson performance is just as enjoyable so, on LP, are those of Hilton and Frankl also on Chandos (despite less than first-rate keyboard reproduction) and Leister and Oppitz on Orfeo (one of my older favourites because of Leister's glorious tone).'