*** BRAHMS: Viola Sonatas. Kim Kashkashian, viola; Robert Levin, piano. (ECM New Series)

In 1894, three years before his death and after weathering a near creative breakdown, Brahms penned his Opus 120. This is quietly powerful music, evoking romanticism yet flecked with hints of modernist form and harmony. Quiet power is the upshot on this recording. Musical allies for two decades, violist Kashkashian and pianist Levin bring a burnished, measured beauty to their reading, with a dynamic subtlety that complements the logic of the Brahmsian contours.