Violinist Netta Hadari and pianist Francois du Toit are two outstanding musicians who deserved a much bigger audience than turned out for their Friends of Music concert. Not only did they offer an excellent programme, but it was also more than well played.

Hadari’s interpretation of Bach’s Sonata No 1 for solo violin was crisp, stylish and musical. It’s an extraordinarily demanding piece, but he offered clear contrapuntal textures and well-turned phrases. Together the two gave a fine performance of Schoenberg’s Fantasy for Violin and Piano. If you think that it was written half a century ago and yet the idiom has never been accepted by concert audiences. Much of Schoenberg’s music remains part of the syllabus at universities, to be studied for his mastery of twelve-tone writing. It was refreshing to hear it played in public by two musicians with such insight.

Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, written shortly before his death, represents a new line of musical thought for him. His untimely death no doubt robbed the world of some fine music. Again, Hadari and du Toit showed a faultless sense of style in a multi-faceted, multi-layered performance that was clearly the result of much thought.

Their interpretation of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata was both balanced and exciting, polished and detailed, without being in any way fussy. These two seem to have a level of communication that produces performances that make you sit up and take notice. When’s their next concert?