FAURE: Sonata No. 1. DEBUSSY: Sonata. FRANCK: Sonata. Joshua Bell, violin; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano. London 421 817.

If this late Romantic, Franco-Belgian violin repertory summons auditory images of wispy, disembodied string playing, Bell’s performances should disabuse all parties of the notion. In his finest recording to date, the young American offers muscular, assertive readings, a conventional approach perhaps for Franck’s 1887 opus, but a bit astonishing in the Faure and Debussy with their half-tints. Bell has not yet achieved mastery in his deployment of string color, but, on their own terms, these are accomplished traversals, abetted by Thibaudet’s suave pianism. London’s recording inclines to the strident.