Keightley-Vine recital

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 8

Keightley-Vine recital

Pamela Keightley (flute) and David Vine (piano) in recital at the Centre Gallery, Arts Centre, April 18, 1.10 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. The Friday lunchtime series of concerts at the Arts Centre continued yesterday with a polished performance by Pamela Keightley and David Vine of music for flute and piano. These two musicians, as a performing duo, already have many hours of concert experience. This was evident in the ease with which they established a musical rapport. Their attack on phrases remained confident throughout; their rhythms sustained a comfortable buoyant pulse. If there was one problem with their sound it was that the piano was dominant throughout. The Arts Centre piano, it wouljjl seem, is best tamed

in chamber concerts by leaving its lid closed. The neatly devised programme moved from a sparkling reading of Sonata in D Major by Quantz through Mozart’s Sonata in A Major and Honeggar’s “Danse de la Chevre” for solo flute, to a welcome airing of Sonata for Flute and Piano by the Christchurch composer, Chloe Moon. The Moon work, written in the late 19705, reveals a romantic side to the composer’s nature. The first movement in particular presents some lush tonal harmonies supporting a warm, singable melody. The second movement presented the most interesting material. A variety of tonal colours was elicited from the piano in a loose-rhythmed accompaniment to the “Quasi recitativo" flute line. The third movement, a jolly through a scattering

of rhythmic figures, was perhaps the least persuasive. It was delivered, though, with sufficient energy and panache to provide a convincing close. Of the other works, the Quantz sonata shone for its clear phrasings and tidy instrumental articulation. The Allegro movement especially, taken at a crackling pulse, was a winner. The performance of this sonata to a degree overshadowed that of the Mozart sonata. In the Mozart, the direction was less certain, the articulation more cautious. Pamela Keightley’s reading of the “Danse de la Chevre” was a delight. The goat in the musical depiction skipped its way through a variety of spiky configurations. The contrasting legato passages, pastoral in mood, brought a rich, warm tone to the fore -