Although hardly remembered for chamber music, Wolf-Ferrari essayed more than a dozen works in the genre at either end of a five-decade composing career. His three violin sonatas fairly delineate the extent of an output that is otherwise dominated by works for the stage.

As his first published work, the First Sonata (1895) exudes youthful resolve – whether in the agitated lyricism of its opening Allegro, the heartfelt eloquence of its central slow movement or the bracing impetus of its finale. Despite its relative proximity, the Second Sonata (1901) is certainly a more individual statement – its two, vividly contrasted movements comprising a headstrong yet methodical Appassionato, then a ‘recitative and aria’ with its improvisatory unfolding towards a serene close. The Third Sonata (1943) is nevertheless the real find here – the poised and flexible idiom of its composer’s maturity as evident with the fluid dialogue of its opening Allegro as in the winsome elegance of its Intermezzo then expressive dexterity of its Scherzo, before the finale sees this engagingly equivocal work through to a resolute close.

Music that falls so naturally and unaffectedly on the ear can easily seem inconsequential in performance but there is no risk of that here, owing to the keen while never forced advocacy of Emmanuele Baldini and Luca Delle Donne, their fastidious and considered interpretations probing more deeply than those by Davide Alogna and Costantino Catena (Brilliant Classics), heard in sound of greater richness and perspective. Particularly the latter two of these sonatas would be worthy additions to the repertoire of any aspiring violinist, as these committed readings make plain.