In an age when one hears so much recorded and amplified sound, the existence of traditional recitals can seem a minor miracle. Two musicians playing acoustic instruments with no amplification can still hold the attention of more than a thousand people in a large hall like the Granada. Rather than being lost, the violin and piano gain power from relying on their innate projection.
On the opening piece, Schubert’s Sonatina in D Major, Op. 137, no. 1, D. 384, Peter Dugan’s piano showed what was small about the piece — the composition’s “tina” aspect — while Joshua Bell’s violin indicated the greater depths and shadows beyond this sunny surface. When the duo moved on to Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, op. 30, No. 2, Bell’s body torqued like a dancer’s as he made his dramatic entrance. What followed was a sheer delight, by turns dreamy, mystical, and passionate.
After a very short, COVID-inspired mini-intermission, Bell came on solo for the Chaconne from Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin, BWV 1004 of Johann Sebastian Bach. It’s hard to imagine anyone playing this celebrated piece any better than Joshua Bell did on Thursday night. For a quarter of an hour, he held the audience spellbound with a sinuous and appropriately monumental account of what may be the most profound composition for a solo instrument in music. The balance Bell achieved between the work’s two voices revealed its emotional core, which has roots in both dance and lament. The impact was breathtaking.