Tasmin Little and Piers Lane

FRANK CLIFF

John Innes Centre, Norwich

It was, for several reasons, an interesting programme which violinist Tasmin Little and pianist Piers Lane offered at Sunday's duo recital.

First, to hear one of Bach's sonatas for violin and keyboard played by violin and piano is a fairly uncommon event these days. Number six is especially noteworthy in having a brilliant allegro movement for keyboard alone.

It was impeccably played, though elsewhere, stylish though the performance was, it showed how difficult it can be in these works to achieve perfect balance between the melodic lines of violin and piano.

However there was no such difficulty in the second work which afforded an opportunity to hear an early violin sonata by Frank Bridge. This has seldom been performed since its composition in 1904 as Bridge left it unfinished.

There was sensitive playing by Tasmin Little in Brahms' A major sonata, though in the melodic lines of both second and third movements she tended to interpret the “piano” markings a little too literally.

Richard Strauss' E flat violin sonata, again not often performed, provided a splendid finale.