Geneva Lewis (violin, above) and Georgijs Osokins (piano, below)

Brahms Violin Sonata no.2 in A major Op.100 (1886)
Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in D minor Kk213
Elgar Violin Sonata in E minor Op.82 (1918)

Wigmore Hall, London
Monday 20 May 2024 (1pm)

by Ben Hogwood

The Violin Sonata no.2 is one of Brahms‘s chamber music perennials, a popular recital fixture – but in this recital from BBC New Generation Artist Geneva Lewis and Latvian pianist Georgijs Osokins it was as though the work had received a fresh coat of paint.

The tempo marking Brahms applied to the first movement, Allegro amabile, is seldom found in classical music – ‘amabile’ meaning ‘lovely’. That was certainly the case in this performance, though Lewis and Osokins took a much slower tempo than is the norm. Their daring approach succeeded, however, for the melodic phrasing blossomed, the spring-like main tune given plenty of room to shine. The second theme was laid bare, but again the slow tempo allowed for greater insight, followed attentively by the Wigmore Hall audience.

The dynamic range of both players was also notable, Lewis very much aware of her surroundings in the quiet passages, the audience subconsciously leaning in to the music. At points the music was so quiet that Osokins’ pedalling could be heard…but conversely the pair were not afraid to put the pedal down and play out, as they did in the finale. In between came a tender and affectionate middle movement, its dreamy opening certainly tranquillo, before a most appealing central vivace section.

Elgar’s Violin Sonata was completed when the composer had just turned 60 – and although he would live for another 16 years, very few major works followed. To hear the sonata played by performers in their twenties was eye-opening indeed, with more youthful elements of the piece revealed and a different light shed on a work that often has autumnal reflections to cast.

The first movement was notable for its commanding first paragraph, Lewis setting the tone for the movement as she became immersed in Elgar’s broad phrasing. Osokins, for his part, mastered the full piano textures most impressively, before both performers drew back for a thoughtful second theme. The second movement became a fascinating mini-ballet between the two instruments, its shadowy colours a clue to the composer’s darker thoughts, though the bittersweet melodies were given extra charm by the dance-inflected rhythms.

The finale took flight immediately, the violin surging forward with penetrating melodies that led to a sense of sunlight breaking through the clouds in the closing phrases, Elgar allowing his thoughts to brighten as the music turned to the major key. The imaginatively chosen encore capitalised on this, Lewis and Osokins giving us the rustic finale of Busoni’s Violin Sonata no.2 in E minor, music which might have passed for one of Brahms’s Hungarian-influenced works were it not for some particularly scrunchy harmonies.

In between the two big sonatas, Osokins (above) had the chance to shine alone, one he took with a profound account of one of Domenico Scarlatti‘s many keyboard sonatas. The Sonata in D minor Kk213 is a bittersweet piece, a reminder of how forward looking this composer’s music can. Rooted in the 18^th century it may be, but in reality we could have been listening to a Satie Gnossienne, especially with Osokins’ poetic licence drawing out the final harmonic resolution.

Published post no.2,184 – Monday 20 May 2024