Inspired Team of Kavakos, Nagy

A long-standing partnership of equals--violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Peter Nagy are matched in brilliance, musical intelligence and interpretive flair--took over Founders Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Sunday afternoon, with an unhackneyed program satisfying in every respect.

The first half, neatly contrasting Bach’s E-major Sonata for violin and keyboard and Stravinsky’s handsome Duo Concertante, gave the players room for a gradual warmup; thereafter, their inspiration soared, climaxing in the afternoon’s finale, Georges Enescu’s musical barnburner, the Sonata No. 3, “Dans le caractere populair Roumain.”

A probing of the composer’s ethnic roots as well as a musical postcard--and virtually a travelogue of Romanian expression--this piece unfolds in a blaze of strong emotions and virtuosic intensity. The Greek violinist and the Hungarian pianist fulfilled all its abundant requirements without a moment of overstatement or loss of control. The demonstration was bracing.

They brought the same careful attention, technical ease and musical probity to Ravel’s seldom-heard “Sonate Posthume,” a gem from the composer’s youth. Before that, Kavakos by himself illuminated Ysaye’s Solo Sonata No. 3, “Ballade.”

In response to the vociferous approbation of the large Eclectic Orange Festival audience, the artists played two encores, the Russian Dance from Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” and Fritz Kreisler’s Gypsy Dance.