If you experience deja-vu reading that Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien are recording Beethoven’s complete Violin Sonatas, that’s perfectly understandable. The violin-piano duo, who first met as BBC New Generation Artists around two decades ago, have already released an acclaimed cycle, with critics praising their “electrifying partnership”. So why return to well-trodden ground? Well, those recordings were live from Wigmore Hall and released in 2010-11; this latest cycle, launching Ibragimova’s new association with BIS records, was recorded in the studio (in beautiful sound), and captures her latest thoughts on this evergreen music. Plus, Tiberghien this time round plays on a replica 1794 Walter fortepiano from the era, while Ibragimova uses gut strings on her 16th-century Amati violin – taking us into a textured sound-world.

What remains the same is the duo’s vitality and intelligence, resulting in music-making that’s sunnily engaging and unfailingly eloquent. Their longstanding partnership pays off in the hand-in-glove feel of their approach, with interpretative decisions always aligned. They kick off with the set of three Op. 12 Sonatas, written in the winter of 1797-98, but filled with the hopeful ebullience of spring – which makes...