Sonata in E minor - Bach
Sonata in D, Op.12 No.1 - Beethoven
Scherzo: Hungarian Dance - Brahms
Grande Adagio - Glazunov
La Viola Breve - Spanish Dance - de Falla
The second half of Anna Cashell's lunchtime recital on Wednesday - short pieces by Brahms, Glazunov and de Falla - was the very best of summer music, played with vigour and enthusiasm and an infectious feeling for rhythm.
Both members of the duo shared a common approach, the two parts sounding as one.
The first half of the programme - the Sonatas by Bach and Beethoven - offered music that was harder to put across but ultimately more rewarding. I did not feel that the two players were quite as adept at Bach's complex pattern making, even if there were moments that touched the heart in the slow movement. A total empathy with Beethoven's emotional expression was obvious from the start of the Sonata in D, and it was understandable that the large audience should wish to applaud each of the three movements. The interplay between violin and piano was a friendly exchange of ideas and when the piano took the lead, Dearbhla Brosnan was quietly emphatic. The second movement's Theme and Variations showed an engaging ability to be both playful and serious and the final Rondo was a friendly race in which no-one tripped or ran too fast.
By Douglas Sealy
