Brahms: Lawrence Power & Pavel Kolesnikov
Queen Elizabeth Hall, 12th May 2019
“Glory be to God for dappled things.” Gerard Manley Hopkins could not have known Brahms’ autumnal sonatas for violin and viola when he wrote Pied Beauty in 1877, for Brahms didn’t start composing his first published violin sonata until the following summer, but their mellow glow would surely merit a place alongside the poet’s “fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls” and “finches’ wings”. While sunshine blazed over crowds bustling along London’s South Bank, celeb-spotting ahead of the Bafta Awards next door, the light was certainly more dappled inside the Queen Elizabeth Hall where Lawrence Power and Pavel Kolesnikov tackled their near three-hour marathon Brahms matinee of the complete violin and viola sonatas.
Lawrence Power
© Jack Liebeck
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