THE fifth recital in Kendal Midday Concert Club’s current season was given by pianists Martino Tirimo and Atsuko Kawakami playing piano duets by Schubert, Bizet and Ravel, writes CLIVE WALKLEY.

Martino Tirimo is an old friend of the concert club having given many recitals in Kendal but this was Atsuko Kawakami’s first visit. She received her initial training in Japan before studying at the Royal Academy and has won many prizes.

There is no dearth of music written or arranged for two players on one piano; not all is of the highest quality; but on this occasion we heard the very best.

The concert opened with a lovely performance of Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor, one of the great masterpieces written in the last year of the composer’s life. The opening heart-rending theme was beautifully balanced with the master, Martino Tirimo, at the bass end of the piano gently supporting the theme played at a higher octave by his much younger colleague.

There are many turbulent sections in this dramatic work and these were played with passion and intensity. The fugal sections were carefully balanced so the fugue theme was never overwhelmed.

Next came Bizet’s delightful Jeux d’ enfants, a series of short pieces painting a colourful picture of children at play. These miniatures present an interpretative challenge because performers have so little time to establish the character of one piece before moving on to the next, but the playfulness of each came out beautifully.

The final Galop was played at breakneck speed – as it needs to be – with a dazzling display of virtuosity from Atsuko Kawakami as she played Bizet’s jaunty tune in octaves in her right hand.

The final work, Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole, aims to capture Spain’s sounds and atmosphere. From the gentle, quiet opening, evoking the mystery of a Spanish summer night, through two folk dances to the brilliant finale, the two players succeeded in creating the atmosphere of this colourful suite.

Our attention was held by the technical brilliance on show, the expressive qualities of the playing and the wide range of sounds and sonorities drawn from the piano. Bizet’s and Ravel’s works are perhaps better known in their orchestral arrangements but these piano duet performances were totally convincing, needing no orchestra to send us happily on our way on a blustery winter’s day.