SKIPTON Music launched its new season in style on Tuesday evening with an inspired recital by violinist Fenella Humphreys and pianist Martin Roscoe.
Playing to a full Town Hall, the duo delivered a programme that was as imaginative as it was virtuosic, each performer balancing detail with dazzling energy.
Fenella explained that her selection revolved around the number 25, marking works premiered in either 1825 or 1925, and performed here in 2025.
The opening set, Prokofiev’s Five Melodies of 1925, was a delight, the violinist shaping the vocal origins of the work with lyrical poise while Martin provided warm and sensitive support.
Adrian Sutton’s Eulogy offered elegiac beauty, leading into Caroline Shaw’s solo violin piece, a tour de force of texture and colour.
Mendelssohn’s youthful Sonata in F minor, composed at just 14, closed the first half with fire and brilliance.
The second half opened with Honegger’s richly sonorous Sonata No. 2, Fenella coaxing cello-like depths from her instrument.
Dorothy Howell’s rarely heard Phantasy was a revelation, both players attacking its bold gestures with conviction. Stravinsky’s Suite displayed incredible virtuosity in equal partnership, rounding off the evening with panache.
Prolonged applause and foot-stamping earned a final treat: Howell’s The Moorings as an encore, sending the audience home exhilarated after a superbly crafted and deeply satisfying concert.
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