Martin Moriarty and Peter Dains at National Concert Hall, August 25th 2014

It’s always exciting to witness the beginning of a promising musical career. Tonight’s recital in the John Field Room is, in effect, a farewell concert by Martin Moriarty as he heads off next week to begin studies at the Amsterdam Conservatorium. Inevitably, even in such a public setting, it has the sense of a family affair: his mother introduces the concert, acknowledges the support of those present in the audience, the teachers, sponsors, friends, and supporters – clearly this is an important turning-point, both for him and everyone close to him. The programme, however, is not a simple leave-taking gesture of party-pieces, but a full evening of serious music, so any emotions have to be kept in check.

All the same, nerves perhaps get in the way of the opening work, Beethoven’s Notturno. Moriarty clearly has a solid technique, and enjoys good rapport with veteran accompanist Peter Dains, but this piece takes a while to settle, with a few rocky moments and tuning issues, though things improve as the work progresses and he achieves a nice singing tone in the ‘adagio’, and fluidly tackles the passagework of the dance-inspired ‘polacca’.

No such problems affect the Shostakovich Viola Sonata however, despite it being a far more challenging piece, both technically and conceptually. This fine work – a true partnership for both viola and piano – elicits some intensely strong playing from Moriarty, suggesting serious promise for the future. He moves from the rustic wit of the second movement to the dark lyricism of the finale with assured confidence, and the two players bring out the gentle allusion to Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata in the closing pages with well-judged poise.

Moriarty plays Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata with good control, producing a warm, even tone in this attractive piece, nicely phrased and sustained. The closing work, York Bowen’s Rhapsody for viola and piano (1955), calls for a rugged, declamatory style of playing, which Moriarty clearly relishes. Some of the tough technical challenges – such as the passages in upper harmonics – expose areas where Moriarty is clearly still developing, but this does not detract from the performance as a whole. Encouraged by their well-wishing audience, Moriarty and Dains respond with a witty account of Arthur Benjamin’s light-hearted Jamaican Rumba as an encore. For Moriarty, not yet 20, this recital is a great achievement, and hopefully we will hear more from him in the future.

Programme:

Beethoven: Notturno for viola and piano in D, Op. 42

Shostakovich: Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 147

Schubert: Sonata in A minor “Arpeggione” (arr. for viola and piano), D821

Bowen: Rhapsody for viola and piano in G minor, Op. 149