TASMIN LITTLE AND PIERS LANE
Adrian Boult Hall *****

The ideal duo partnership is more than the sum of its parts. The two musical personalities don't merge, exactly, but balance, complement and inspire each other to create a performance that enshrines the qualities of both artists - and still sounds like it sings with one voice.

That's exactly what we got from Tasmin Little and Piers Lane in César Franck's Violin Sonata, the climax of this lunchtime recital at Birmingham Conservatoire. It's too simple to say that Lane's piano embodied the dark and Little's violin the light side of Franck's masterpiece. Both shared the same ability to charge a repeated sequence of notes with mounting emotional intensity, both understood instinctively when to make a phrase growl or gleam.

But even at its most tranquil, an undercurrent of passion drove the whole performance. Franck's runaway accelerandos and torrential outbursts of emotion have rarely sounded more natural or more necessary.

Earlier, the pair had dispatched Brahms's FAEScherzo in a single symphonic sweep, and made a poetic case for Szymanowski's neglected D minor Sonata. Lane colouring his staccato chords to emulate the texture of Little's pizzicato, and Little spinning delicate golden tracery in the skies above.

And as an encore, they pulled out an exquisite, recently rediscovered miniature by William Lloyd Webber - father of the Conservatoire's new principal. It was enough to make you forget that you were in the grotty old Adrian Boult Hall. With artists of this quality and a sizeable and enthusiastic audience, there was no better demonstration of the promising new spirit that seems to be blowing through the Conservatoire.

Tasmin Little and Piers Lane Perform Exceptional Recital at Birmingham Conservatoire

Performance Platform is an admirable series of Tuesday midday concerts that predominantly feature some of Birmingham Conservatoire’s most talented postgraduate performers. The recital on Dec 1st 2015 was exceptional in both senses of the word – established world famous musicians giving a programme of the highest quality. To a generously filled Adrian Boult Hall, the Principal of the Music Department of Birmingham City University, Julian Lloyd Webber, was delighted to introduce Tasmin Little (violin) and Piers Lane (piano), assuring the audience of the treat in store; expectations were totally justified.

The duo were straight into the action with Brahms’ contribution to the F.A.E Sonata, a collaboration that he, along with Schumann and Dietrich, composed as a tribute to the celebrated violinist of their day, Joseph Joachim. Sonatensatz was the perfect warm-up piece, the pair impressing with their smooth handling of changes in tempo, seemingly achieved without eye contact between the two. Such innate musicality continued with the Sonata Op.9 in D minor by Szymanowski. This early piece possibly reflects the composer’s mixed Eastern European roots – of Polish extraction living in a Russian occupied Ukraine. Indeed the passion in the opening Allegro moderato reminded me at times of the recent border clashes in that region. In contrast, as Little and Lane perfectly captured the lyricism of the following Andantino tranquillo e dolce, I thought the melody flowed beautifully, even jolly at times. There was excitement and finery too in the Finale, making me wonder why this work is not more widely played.

The Franck Violin Sonata in A is however extensively recorded and performed – and rightly so. Although scored in four movements, the divisions all stem from the opening theme of the Allegretto, embracing a story that both artists told with conviction and eloquence. I loved the way the emphasis switched between violin and piano: Little and Lane equal in every respect, musical partners idyllically sharing lead and accompaniment. It was no surprise that an encore was given, appropriately a short (unnamed?) piece that Julian Lloyd Webber had discovered lurking in one of his father William’s drawers – a veritable bonbon to round off an enjoyable feast of lunchtime entertainment.

Bernstein's Serenade a highlight of the BBC Phil's celebration

"The second work in this evening’s concert was a much less familiar work. Bernstein’s Serenade for Strings, Harp, Percussion and Solo Violin after Plato’s Symposium would surely be better known if the composer had entitled it Violin Concerto, for that is what it is. Tasmin Little, known for the breadth of her repertoire, was the excellent soloist..."

"The work began with a beautiful violin solo; Ms Little soon had the audience hanging on every note. The strings joined in and then the percussion – one of the few occasions when all the percussion played together. The second movement was a lyrical intermezzo for violin and strings alone; the third a brief scherzo. The fourth movement was striking for the build-up of intensity by strings and timpani, a solo cadenza and a lovely moment when the soloist soared above the strings and harp in a serene melody. The finale started slowly and calmly but the serious discussion was soon interrupted by drunken revellers (with an ear-catching plucked jazz-style double bass), leading to an exuberant conclusion. Orchestra, conductor and especially the soloist made this performance of Bernstein’s Serenade a great experience; I hope to hear this major work many more times."

"A compensation for the darker nights and the thought of winter to come is the prospect of a season of concerts at the Theatre by the Lake presented by the Keswick Music Society.

The series got off to a great start on Sunday with a violin and piano recital given by Tasmin Little and Martin Roscoe. This was a very welcome visit by these  renowned artists who treated us to an exhilarating performance of a programme full of contrasts.
They entered and launched immediately into Brahms’ Sonatensatz with vitality and passion. The unhelpful acoustic at the theatre was soon overcome as the violin tone warmed in the central lyrical section. The full textured piano part was masterfully handled.

Beethoven’s G major sonata opus 96 is a calm and gentle work untypical of the more dramatic and fiery music the composer was writing at the time. This calm mood pervades the whole piece, with only an occasional outburst as at the end of the Scherzo and Finale. The first movement was elegant and perfectly balanced and the rapport between these players was obvious in their intimate musical conversation.
The sublime slow movement opened with a religious intensity from the pianist and this mood was sustained throughout with long sustained violin passages and gentle decorations from both players. In the brief Scherzo energetic staccati at the start and end of the movement contrasted with lovely lyrical playing in the Trio section.  The gentle Allegretto with its variations led to a joyous outburst at the end.

Delius’ Legende is unashamedly romantic with influences of Grieg and Dvorak. The generous vibrato and warm rich violin tone here made this a heart warming performance and the muted semiquaver passage in the high register seemed effortless and ethereal.

Richard Strauss’ violin and piano sonata was the final work in the programme.  This is a tour de force of high technical skill for both players. The mood is often heroic, sometimes tender and lyrical, reminiscent of the composer’s orchestral tone poems with rich textures and chromaticism. The virtuoso piano passages were formidable and the expansive violin phrases soared. The improvisational second movement was played with tenderness and in the lower register of the violin the tone was particularly rich.  Rippling piano passages were magical and the ending of the movement was sweet and almost impossibly soft. The Finale was a dazzling display of virtuosity from both players with the ferociously difficult piano part sounding effortless.  In contrast delicate dovetailed episodes were beautifully executed and the explosive
ending was triumphant.

Elgar’s ‘Salut d’Amour’, sweetly played, was a fitting encore to calm us all down after the drama of the preceding piece.

Tasmin Little has a real warmth in her communication with the audience, both musically and verbally and it is a real pleasure to hear her introductions to the pieces. We are very privileged to have such distinguished performers in Keswick. The capacity audience seemed well pleased with the evening and I feel sure everyone hopes for a return visit in the near future.

"Reduced from full strength, the orchestra was at its most impressive in providing a sensitive foil to Tasmin Little, summoning a soft haze and gentle breaths of harmony over which Vaughan Williams’ Lark ascended. Her quick vibrato and forward tone-quality made for an unusually extrovert reading of what’s generally heard as a faithful evocation in music of an ethereally numinous poem by George Meredith. However, her approach to Holst’s Song of the Night was idiomatically suited to its peculiar combination of virtuoso-encore turns of phrase and a more withdrawn, bare exploration of harmony characteristic of the composer’s Eastern-influenced music."

Peter Quantrill, AMATI, July 2015

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"As a nod to the UK side of the Year of Mexico, we had Vaughan Williams’s Lark Ascending, a piece often played in a tone of lofty purity. Tasmin Little gave it a more human, speaking warmth, which was affecting. She returned to give a radiant performance of Gustav Holst’s recently rediscovered Song of the Night, a piece which sits squarely in the European tradition of encore pieces."

Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph, July 2015

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"Just as we were getting into foot tapping mode, the mood was change dramatically with an impressive performance of the evergreen The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams – usually the preserve of British orchestras. With the guiding hand of Tasmin Little as the lark, this was a very convincing performance. A magical work that seems to have existed somewhere forever, it can fall flat in performance if it is pushed too hard. Here the tempi were perfectly judged, the string pianissimos were exquisite and the woodwind solos were delicate and responsive. Tasmin Little gave a strong and direct performance to crown it all. She then gave an equally idiomatic performance of a rarity by Holst from 1905, A Song of the Night. After the Vaughan Williams, this work seemed rather gawky and half baked. Only in an unexpectedly passionate but very short central section did we hear anything that sounded like the mature Holst."

Chris Garlick, Bachtrack, July 2015

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Spellbinding Sonatas in Saddleworth

Last night the 2015 Saddleworth Festival presented a memorable violin and piano recital by Tasmin Little and Martin Roscoe. Tasmin’s spoken introductions to the items, were not only a refreshing change to norm at a classical concert, but proved highly informative by providing key moments for the audience to listen out for. In the first half we heard two Violin Sonatas by Beethoven, beginning with Violin Sonata no.1 in D Op. 12. The first movement began with an incisive fanfare followed by finely balanced playing between the instruments, and a subtle range of dynamic shadings. The second movement was a theme and four variations, in which the third minor key variation was diversely characterised, whilst the rondo finale proved short and sweet. This sonata was substituted for Beethoven’s fourth, but the audience were wholeheartedly appreciative, even bursting into spontaneous applause at the end of the opening movement.

As might be expected, Beethoven’s Violin Sonata no.5 in F Op 24 ‘Spring’ with its glorious opening theme proved an even bigger hit. Perhaps the most impressive moments of the first movement were the way in which the recapitulation was so sublimely achieved, and the finely nuanced unison statements of the coda. In the finale, the contrast between the rondo theme and the episodes was well-judged - in particular the way the duo brought out the latent drama of the second episode. But an undoubted highlight was the brief scherzo where, as Tasmin had pointed out, the piano starts and the violin struggles to catch up! – with some hilarity, but it was the precisely disciplined performance that released the humour.

Ravel’s short Pièce en forme d’Habanera proved a perfect curtain-raiser to the second half, and showed off the tonal colours of the Schimmel piano to advantage in the still opening phrases. The main item, however, was César Franck’s Violin Sonata in A, written in 1886, as a wedding present for the violinist Ysaÿe. Again Tasmin prefaced the performance with some carefully chosen comments, which included the apt description of the work as being one of the greatest for this particular combination of instruments. Perhaps what sets the seal on this statement is the consistently high quality of the invention, and the way in which the themes are transformed and recycled across the movements in Lisztian fashion. In the ‘improvisatory’ moderato third movement, this performance certainly succeeded in creating a very spontaneous sounding approach, whilst showcasing Franck’s spellbinding melodic endeavours to advantage.

Inevitably the pair was not allowed to retire without an encore: Brahms’ Hungarian Dance no 5 was not only thrilling and superbly characterised, but proved a model in ensemble and balance. This treat was followed by a short presentation from the festival committee, in which even the page turner received a gift.

Tim Mottershead

"Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, premiered in 1845, is elegant and eternally fresh; its three movements are linked skilfully together so the piece plays as a cohesive whole. Taken at a brisk pace, the first movement was not over-sentimentalised. Little played with great panache and virtuosity in the tutti sections, whilst still paying due deference to the solo passages. It was great to see such obvious warmth and rapport between Little, Rustioni and the BSO's leader. Her performance of the cadenza was of particular note, played with great authority and style. Little has the ability to subtly reduce the size of any hall in which she plays, making the music-making process feel a very intimate affair indeed. The Andante was both subtly and delicately played, still with great romantic expression, while the finale was adroitly dispatched as soloist, conductor and orchestra danced in unity to a breathtaking conclusion."