Geneva Lewis & Evren Ozel NNF 2023

Some of my favourite memories of stewarding at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival come from the shifts I did for the lunchtime concerts held in the Octagon Chapel in Colegate. As well as broadening my appreciation of differing classical pieces and styles, they also introduced me to some rising young stars from the classical world.
 
This year's series of concerts features musicians from the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists programme, and kicked off on Tuesday with a real treat – New Zealand born violinist Geneva Lewis and American pianist Evren Ozel, and a programme that featured Violin Sonatas by both Mozart and Beethoven, and a Sonata for Violin and Piano by one of New Zealand's most distinguished composers, Douglas Lilbum.
 
Geneva Lewis' father is the New Zealand former professional tennis player Chris Lewis, who reached the Wimbledon singles final in 1983. Geneva was born in Auckland, but the family moved to the United States when she was seven years old. For a while it was unclear whether music or tennis would become her career path, as she seemed to excel at both. Music triumphed, and now she plays violin all over the world, and is lauded for the 'remarkable mastery of her instrument'. Evren Ozel has been described as a pianist of 'refined restraint', and the duo complemented each other perfectly at this lunchtime concert.
 
Mozart's Violin Sonata in C Major, K303 is a familiar piece to many, but with Lewis' fluidity and sensitive playing, and Ozel's sagaciously perceptive accompaniment, it became a rendition of incredible beauty as the alternating Adagio and Allegro molto sections of the first movement carried across the spread of the Octagon Chapel.
 
Lewis took time out to tell us more about Douglas Lilbum and, in particular, his Sonata for Violin & Piano, which was composed in 1950. It was a time when his writing was still being greatly influenced by the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Lilbum would later move into more electronic and avant-garde composing, but this piece is filled with romantic touches and expansive flourishes that seem to evocatively capture the rugged and varied landscapes of New Zealand.
 
Finally came Beethoven's Violin Sonata No 10 (Op 96), a piece written just 34 years after the Mozart Sonata, but this time in four movements, and beginning with an opening trill that is a searching test  for even the most accomplished of players. Lewis comes through with flying colours, and goes on to stamp her calm and ethereal authority all over this piece.
 
An absolute gem of a recital, and I cannot wait to hear it all over again when the recording is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on June 6th , at 7.30pm.