{TABLE} Duo ............................ Eric Sweeney Tiento ......................... Benjamin Dwyer Rigoletto Paraphrase ........... Liszt Shaping the Curve .............. Michael Nyman Sonata 1st and 2nd movements ... Phil Woods Visions ........................ Michael McGlynn Brilliance ..................... Ida Gotkovsky {/TABLE} JOHN Hogan's recital of recent saxophone music on Sunday was part of the NCH Young Platform series. His adventurous programme was notable for its brilliance: the title of the last piece, by Ida Gotkovsky, could have applied to all the items. They were at showy and he had the technique to master their toccata like flurry of notes and their minimalist repetitions without losing sight of their overall shape.

Eric Sweeney's Duo and Michael Nyman's Shaping the Curve (the latter receiving its first Irish performance) were sentially minimalise with a sweetening of old fashioned melody: Nyman's piece displayed more variety and far more rhythmic excitement. A sense of minimalism, especially in accompanying figures, pervaded the other saxophone pieces as well, and Liszt's Rigoletto Paraphrase, played by Dearbhla Collins (piano) has enough repetition to sound like an anticipation of minimalism.

Benjamin Dwyer's Tiento had an expressive passage for saxophone solo: so much so that the piano part sounded like an after thought. One of the movements in Michael McGlynn's Visions was for solo saxophone: it skirted the territory of decorated folksong in a satisfyingly serious manner, creating a supple and subtly varied melody. The other movements glanced other styles without the same sense of inner compulsion. This was another first Irish performance.

Phil Woods's sonata swayed uneasily between pastoral and jazz and Gotovsky's Brilliance was all glitter; like the other works they gave John Hogan a vehicle for his impressive talents. It would be good to hear him in a more solid and less frothy selection.