This was an enjoyable recital of musical depth and
sincere empathy. Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata in F was full of
pleasing details, if slightly one-dimensional as a whole, and the violin-piano
relationship in Schubert’s treacherously simple Violin Sonata (Duo)
in A D574 showed a compassionate mutual understanding between the
players.
But despite a good body of
sound, Katharine Gowers’ tone was often bland
and strained, particularly in the higher registers.
The lack of variety – combined with insecure
intonation and messy articulation – was at
odds with Paul Lewis’ absorbing depth of tone;
he is indeed a coaxer of the piano, and an
intrepid explorer of its many voices.
A shared affinity for the music of Liszt (his Elegie
No.1 and, as an encore, his Romance Oubliee) saw some of
the most impassioned playing of the evening. Despite further violinistic
untidiness, Franck’s Violin Sonata in A was full of effective
contrasts, touchingly tender in places, captivatingly powerful in others.
Simon Hewitt Jones
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