Sonata in G Op 30 No 3 - Beethoven
Sonata in G minor BWV1001 - Bach
Sonata in B - Delius
Piece en forme de habanera - Ravel
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso - Saint-Saens
Tasmin Little's reputation as a violinist rests not only on her musical and technical skills. She is also a natural entertainer and a persuasive advocate for the music of Delius. His Sonata in B was one of the main items on the programme given by Little and John Lenehan (piano) at the National Gallery on Saturday night, as part of this year's Music Festival in Great Irish Houses.
This early work was not published until over 40 years after the composer's death in 1934. Tasmin Little has recorded it, and I find it hard to imagine a performance more involving than the one it received at this concert. The piece has its moments, especially in the slow movement. However, it is overlong; and there is something fundamentally limited about a duo sonata with no real dialogue between the instruments.
Tasmin Little's extrovert playing and extrovert spoken introductions to each piece set the tone of the concert. She eagerly seized any dramatic opportunity offered by the music, and in Saint-Saens's Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso this paid off handsomely.
Virtuosic and finely timed, and with John Lenehan providing typically unanimous support, this performance was one of the concert's highlights. It was much more convincing than Beethoven's Sonata in G, Op 30 No 3, which was flashy and over-dramatised.
Bach's unaccompanied Sonata in G minor BWV 1001 was not just the best music on the programme. Impeccably balanced polyphony, especially during the Fugue, and an absorbing feel for the music's structural subtleties revealed - far more than any other music - the thoughtful musicianship of which Little is capable.