Melodies Without Borders: Ferec Necef and Rasim Yagız Ilhan review ★★★★★

Cellist Ferec Necef is not a man to shy away from a challenge. An audience might expect one thrilling showpiece in a recital, but to include three – an entire firework display – showed a generosity of spirit not always found in London lunchtime concerts.

He and Turkish-born pianist Rasim Yağiz İlhan sent up their first rocket with Camille Saint-Saëns’s Allegro Appassionato, op 43, showering the expansive nave of St Nicholas Church, Chiswick – a regular concert venue – in a starburst of musical dexterity.

After that excitement they settled down to the restrained elegance of Fauré’s Élégie. The opening melody of this piece needs to grow in intensity as it expands, and here Necef built a real atmosphere, drawing us into its quiet yearning, before stepping into the background to allow the piano to take the lead.

There was more beautifully measured piano as Weber’s Adagio J 115 unfolded, with Necef gently caressing its wistful lament. Its accompanying Rondo got off to a shaky start, but soon the acrobatics were under control and we were heading for a bravura finish.

Dvorak’s swooningly romantic main theme in his Slavonic Dance No 2, op 72 was lovingly shaped by Ferec and İlhan. The central section felt a little distant and workmanlike, but it was not long before we were sinking back into that lush melody, this time even more passionate than before.

It was an ideal prelude to the second firework in this concert: Pablo de Sarasate’s explosive Gypsy Airs, op 20. This is a showpiece for violin, which in a cello transcription seems to require more than superhuman effort to achieve. Necef and İlhan deserve credit for navigating its fiendish passages so successfully, even if pinpoint accuracy was occasionally sacrificed as the semi-quavers flashed past.

Rachmaninov’s Vocalise spread some balm after all that fiery excitement, its long legato song-without-words unwinding with an intense, deeply-felt longing.

And so to the final showpiece: David Popper’s Concert Polonaise, op 14. Elegantly phrased, this danced along with enormous energy from both players, its emphatic rhythm nicely balanced with an often big-hearted sonority. It’s a dizzying tightrope walk for the soloist, which Necef negotiated with dash and verve. It brought to a close a recital that more than made up for its small infelicities with its shining ambition and sheer courage.