Review: Antonio Meneses and Mari João Pires, Queen’s Hall

The last-minute decision to switch the order of the first two pieces in this concert was, in retrospect, probably a mistake.

Star rating: * * * *

Following the limpid poetry of Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires’s reading of the solo-piano op.117 Brahms Intermezzos, which were introspective but nonetheless filled with emotion, the rest of the programme – for which she was joined by Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses – felt like a bit of an anticlimax.

It was as if we’d heard the best of the captivating yet unforced playing for which Pires is renowned right at the start: she seemed to caress the keyboard in this trio of death-obsessed musings, and her chord weighting and part delineation were breathtaking.

And it was a shame that we had to wait for the final piece – more Brahms, the First Cello Sonata – for Pires to emerge as an equal partner with Meneses. Nevertheless, there was an effortless, almost empathetic sense of ensemble between them: with seldom a glance at each other, they still produced a fluid performance full of stormy passions. It’s an unremittingly melancholy piece, but the duo handled its light and shade masterfully, although sometimes when Meneses was in his lowest register the thick piano part drowned him out. Still, their thrilling race for the finish left you breathless.

Earlier in the programme, though, Meneses seemed to make some strange decisions. His Schubert Arpeggione Sonata – originally written for a strange guitar/cello hybrid – seemed a bit undercharacterised, while the seething emotion he brought to Mendelssohn’s brief Song Without Words op.109 was a little out of place. Still, he was serious-minded and eloquent throughout, and his no-nonsense playing matched Pires’s luminosity to a tee.