Sonata in A Op 30 No 1 - Beethoven
Sonata Op 27 No 4 - Ysaye
Sonata in A - Franck
The imminence of a Dublin-based national conservatory of music notwithstanding, Ireland's centre for excellence in string-playing is altogether more southerly. So, it seems appropriate that the young Cork violinist Ioana Petcu-Colan (21), currently a student of Lydia Mordkovitch in London, should set down a marker by embarking on a complete cycle of the Beethoven sonatas in her native city.
Selections from the cycle are being offered in other centres, and Sunday afternoon (March 14th) brought an appearance in Dublin, at the John Field Room. Unfortunately, her regular partner for the series, Patrick Zuk, was replaced on this occasion by Una Hunt, so the concert didn't afford the opportunity to gauge the style of the series as a whole.
In Beethoven's Op. 30 No 1 Petcu-Colan's manner was appealingly direct, the tone unforced, the music allowed to speak for itself. With Hunt casting the piano in a merely supportive role, what the performance lacked was a sense of real musical engagement between the two players.
The fourth of Ysaye's solo sonatas, the one dedicated to Kreisler, was offered instead of the advertised F minor Sonata of Prokofiev. Here PetcuColan showed a clear mastery of the notes and a relish in the technical challenges involved, though the musical outcome, as so often in these sonatas, was less clear cut.
Franck's Sonata in A brought ardency of expression from both players, Hunt now ready to assert as well as accompany, creating the opportunity of music-making with rewardingly vital cut and thrust.
