Review: Baroque Violin and Fortepiano

Baroque Violin and Fortepiano was held at the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre. Photo/File

What: Baroque Violin and Fortepiano
Where: Concert Chamber
When: Thursday

This was an evening which gave a full measure of eloquence to the audience by two first-rate musicians who brought out the charm and refinement in Mozart's music

Their instruments were of the types he would have used, lending to the concert a distinctive character.

British Baroque violinist Catherine Mackintosh showed that while her instrument had a lean and mellow tone compared to modern ones because of its gut strings, she could still get elegant expression from it.

Wellingtonian Douglas Mews's fortepiano, an early version of the piano with an uneven response and also a soft toned, had a completely satisfying sound because of his graceful phrasing and sure control.

Extracts read from letters between members of the Mozart family provided a revealing background to the compositions of Amadeus.

They formed a splendid partnership, with exemplary balance and clarity, and unerringly got the right style for each piece in a programme of mainly Mozart sonatas.

In the sonatas they adroitly revealed the wide range of Mozart's temperament: the G major overflowed with fun, the E minor written at a time of despair convincingly mixed bleakness with optimism, while two others had lightness and flow to make their dance rhythms a delight.