Harrogate International Festivals’ Sunday Series finished on a high note with a superb concert by Anastasia Feruleva, a cellist who marries technical excellence with intensity of interpretation and richness of tone, and Frank van de Laar, a pianist who is as capable in flamboyant extravagance as he is in a more self-effacing role as accompanist.
They gave a programme with no fewer than nine pieces, only one of which, a highpoint of the concert, could be designated a substantial work: Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, not far off 30 minutes. This received a suitably sunny treatment from Feruleva and Van de Laar, its leisurely mood maintained even in allegro passages. Schubert’s gift for melody asserted itself throughout, especially in the magical stillness of the second movement. Only in two sections of the final movement did rhythmic intensity prevail in passages with more than a hint of the gypsy about them.
After this the dynamic treatment of Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise Brilliante sent us to the interval in good spirits. Well named by Chopin, this brilliant polonaise was as notable for Van de Laar’s virtuosity as for Feruleva’s ferocity of attack.
The opening piece of the concert and the four that followed the interval were all extremely short and showed the musicians’ liking for gentle works of restrained beauty, all played with lyrical serenity. Mendelssohn’s Lied ohne Worte is not to be confused with his piano pieces which were such staples of the Victorian drawing room and Faure’s Apres un reve was indeed originally a song with words, the cello reminding us of its close connection with the human voice. The Swan is the only part of The Carnival of the Animals that Saint-Saens allowed to be played in public in his lifetime – more’s the pity, though it is a charming piece!
Faure also contributed the well known Sicilienne, lilting and poetic, and the wonderful Papillon, the cello performing miracles of fluttering flight.
Finally we came to Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestucke, increasing the tempo and intensity and building to a virtuosic finale, and the one piece not composed in the 19th century, Astor Piazzolla’s Le Grand Tango. The combination of tango rhythms and modern chamber music phrasing is increasingly irresistible, culminating in a wild finale with explosive exchanges between the two instruments.
It was a wonderful concert, with only one very minor quibble. The emphasis on the 19th century was slightly limiting: certainly the Piazzolla came as an exhilarating change.
Reviewed on 19 April 2026
The Reviews Hub Star Rating
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9
