Sonata in A minor, Op 23 - Beethoven

Sonata in C - d'Indy

Sonata (Op posth) - Ravel

Sonata in D minor, Op 108 - Brahms

Although Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931) was for many years an important figure in French musical life, not least as a major disciple of Cesar Franck, the bulk of his output has long fallen into neglect. He is best remembered for his Symphony on a French mountain air for piano and orchestra, a piece which was recorded by the NSO for Naxos in 1993, but not performed publicly here at that time.

The substantial Violin Sonata brought to the AIB Music Festival in Great Irish Houses last night by the Dutch duo of Isabelle van Keulen and Ronald Brautigam came across as an estimable but largely uningratiating work. The absence of melodic or harmonic distinction let alone distinctiveness created a barrier at a first encounter, and only the tumultuously busy finale responded really well to the pressured intensity of van Keulen's style.

That particular intensity, expressed through throaty tone and lines forged out of wrenching swells, often brought to mind the viola more than the violin. The loud and hoarseseeming grand oratory of her playing contrasted with the controlled musical demeanour of the pianist. Brautigam never shirked the big moment or failed to capture the music's broad sweep, yet he scaled the heights and stirred the heart without the constant sense of effortful striving that characterised his partner.

The combination did not yield much in the opening sonata by Beethoven, but the highly-charged violin playing found more malleable material in the closing Brahms, where Brautigam was a model of expository exactness, finding Brahmsian weight in a presentation of pellucid clarity.

Where the duo struck a perfect match of performing style was in Ravel's posthumously-published sonata of 1897. Their approach here was to view the piece from the perspective of the later works, and the deft colouring and sharp harmonic responsiveness brought to the music an internal glow that was quite captivating.