Solo Violin Sonata No 1 - Bach
Sonata in G Op 78 - Brahms
Sonata in F Op 24 (Spring) - Beethoven
Song of Love Op 7 - Suk
Tzigane - Ravel
Violinist Gregory Harrington is heading off to the Mannes College of Music in New York in September. Following early tuition at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, he spent the last five years as a private student of Marat Bisengaliev in England, and has only recently begun to feature regularly as a performer in his native Dublin.
His concert at the John Field Room last night demonstrated enterprise (no less than three sponsors and a full house) and a sense of daring. The programme opened with Bach's G minor solo sonata, and ended with Ravel's demanding Tzigane. The problem, unfortunately, was the playing itself.
Solo Bach is among the most demanding music a violinist can choose from the standard repertoire. Harrington showed from the start a muted tone, light vibrato and narrow dynamic range that would have served him well - better in this music than the style of many a more virtuosic musician - had the basics of rhythmic control, intonational accuracy and clarity of part-playing been in evidence.
Whether it was all the result of nerves, the dry acoustic of the venue or it was just one of those nights the difficulties persisted through the rest of the evening. It is always disheartening to see a performer lose their place with the music in front of them, and even more unusual - unique in my experience - to see an essential bit of equipment, a shoulder pad, hit the floor in mid-performance.
Harrington weathered the rigours of the occasion with fortitude, as did his accommodating pianist Rachel Quinn. But the technical barriers on this occasion were simply too great to allow any real picture emerge of what he might be like as a musician.
