Violist Offers Engrossing Recital

Intriguing repertory is what the listener should expect from an important viola recital. And that is what materialized Tuesday night when young British violist Lawrence Power, winner last June of the William Primrose International Competition, made his local debut in the Alfred Newman Recital Hall at USC.

Generous and wide-ranging, this program framed works by Schumann, Hindemith, Vieuxtemps and Prokofiev with two pieces written in 1919, a neo-Romantic sonata by English violist and composer Rebecca Clarke, and Hindemith’s early and unabashedly tonal Sonata for viola and piano, Opus 11, No. 4.

The mix was engrossing and satisfying, the two outside sonatas being colorful, emotional musical essays that put on display Power’s vivid temperament and technical arsenal. In both, he was assisted effectively by pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips on an instrument--don’t blame the open lid!--that seemed at least one size too large for the refurbished auditorium. The two musicians are well-matched partners, even though the pianist lacks a full range of dynamics, and thus sometimes covers his associate.

Further evidence of the young (born 1977) violist’s virtuosic resources came in his playing of Vieuxtemps’ 22-minute confection of a sonata, in two pieces by Schumann and in a transcription of Juliet’s death scene from Prokofiev’s ballet. Each emerged amusing, touching or full-voiced, as needed.

Most engaging was the unaccompanied sonata Hindemith wrote in 1922, which came before intermission and brought to the evening a full palette of playfulness, musical substance, abrasiveness and melancholy. A great work, importantly performed.