★★★
VIOLINIST Andrew Roberts and pianist Rachel Fryer make an impressive musical couple but even so it is a tall order to present a dark Prokofiev sonata for a lunchtime concert.
My neighbour enjoyed a snooze in the first movement only to be jarred awake in the second.
Written in 1936 during Stalin’s reign of terror, Prokofiev himself said his piece sounded like “wind across a graveyard”
– heavy going and worlds away from the composer’s joyous ballet music. That said, Prokofiev can’t resist injecting a hint of humorous madness here, in evidence towards the end of the second movement.
The third movement was, as Roberts announced in his introduction, consoling, and at this point his playing became ethereal. With connotations of Verdi, the final movement was chilling – I felt as if I’d been through a wringer.
Two short arrangements by Rebecca Clarke followed, showcasing her skills favourably. The relatively serene Clarke piece highlighted Roberts’ commanding legato playing and the range of styles gave the fabulous acoustics in the Chapel Royal a run for their money.
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