Sonata No. 1 in G - Brahms
Sonata No. 2 in G - Grieg
Sonata in A (Kreutzer) - Beethoven
A just mix of individuality and unanimity is valuable in duo playing. That was one of the strengths of the recital given last Tuesday night at the Law Society, Blackhall Place, by the Norwegians Henning Kraggerud (violin) and Helge Kjekshus (piano). It was another instance of good talent-spotting by the Limerick Music Association. (Kraggerud played Sibelius's Violin Concerto with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Galway and Limerick in 1998.)
The nicely contrasted programme showed these young men (26 and 32 years old, respectively) as free-thinking, imaginative musicians who have a definite concept of each piece, in detail and overall. The almost-conversational discourse which opened Brahms's Sonata in G defined the character of a performance which was on the intimate side of that music's possibilities, but was impeccably scaled within and between movements, was just-enough-aware of the music's passing subtleties, and was well-judged for the acoustics of the President's Hall.
In Grieg's Sonata No. 2, the ease with which the players bent tempos, and their sureness about where each section was heading were a good start. But in a work based largely on folk music, the winning quality was their characterisation of the three movements. A passionate rhapsody was followed by elevated song, and all culminated in a transcendent, though none-too-subtle dance.
The musical values of this recital were epitomised in the way that Kraggerud played with his eyes closed and his head angled towards the piano rather than the audience. The extraordinary, young-lion assault on Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Sonata would not have been to everyone's taste. But it had integrity; and wow - it was exhilarating!
