{TABLE} Sonata in G minor D408 ............... Schubert Sonata Op 27 No 3 (Battade) .......... Ysaye Sonata in G .......................... Ravel Sonata in E flat Op 12 No 3 .......... Beethoven Rondo from the "Haffner" Serenade .... Mozart/Kreister Potonaise Brilliante in D ............ Wieniawski {/TABLE} CATHERINE LEONARD, the current holder of the Heineken violin and bow, can pack a punch at least as hard as the one offered by that company's most famous product. Tuesday night's recital at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre featured sonatas by Beethoven, Schubert and Ravel, plus three works by violinist composers from the 19th and 20th centuries. The partnership between Catherine Leonard and Patrick Zuk (piano) was natural and communicative and had infectious enthusiasm.
The most complete performances were of the post Classical music. Leonard's technical skill, confidence and enormous energy enabled her to make capital from Wieniawski's Polonaise Brilliante and Kreisler's milk it dry arrangement of the Rondo from Mozart's "Haffner" Serenade.
That music is all flash. Ravel's Sonata in G is not though it is scarcely less virtuosic. Both players captured its Gershwin-esque and other trans Atlantic hallmarks, while their feel for its mix of subtlety and brashness eclipsed the occasional rough edges.
Leonard's penchant for the large gesture was less persuasive in Schubert's Sonata in G minor, D408, and Beethoven's Sonata in E flat, Op. 12 No. 3. The Beethoven in particular was over blown and was not helped by Zuk's loud playing and over pedalling.
The most impressive performance was of Ysaye's Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 27 No. 3 (Ballade). Ysaye's sonatas combine late Romantic style with devices drawn from Bach's solo violin music and place profound demands on technique and understanding. Leonard had a convincing grip on this music's idiosyncratic mix of impulsiveness and discipline, while her delivery had a blistering intensity.
