The first of this year’s ‘Live at Lunch’ concert series at the Concourse at Chatswood was superb. Jane Rutter and Simon Tedeschi’s playing was mesmerizing .The packed, thrilled audience loved it .

Rutter wore a striking off the shoulder, heavily embroidered, Chinese style dress that floated. Tedeschi was elegant in a dark suit and tie. Rutter wore her long curly hair free and at times posed and looked coquettishly over her shoulder at the audience whilst playing. Also  of note  was that both played at times barefoot, in homage to Satie, a ‘free spirit’.

First on the program was the cyclical Cesar Franck ‘Sonata in A Major for Flute and Piano’ (originally for violin and piano) in four movements. The first was haunting and evocative, a dialogue between flute and piano , with delicate yet strong , fluttering flute. The second movement opened very romantically with tumultuous, scurrying piano and then a sudden change to a slower , more lyrical feel , ( Perfect for a big ballet- I could just see a major pas de deux here) . There was a section evocative of Debussy’s ‘Afternoon of a Faune’ and we were catapulted to the breathless finale. The third movement was rich and languid with birdlike flute and the fourth movement brought the work to a bright, cascading conclusion. Tedeschi then entertained us with a Rachmaninoff/Franck anecdote.

Then came the mesmerizing , hypnotic Satie ‘Gnossienes’ , familiar from Ashton’s ‘Monotones‘ .The first was crystalline , languid and somewhat otherworldly. (Rutter played on a piccolo for particular effect and then changed to her prized extra special flute for the rest of the work). The second movement was slow, limpid and luxurious in contrast to the third which was rippling and ravishing .

This was followed by Poulenc’s ‘Sonata For Flute and Piano’ in three movements in which we were advised to listen for the early jazz influence as well as that of cabaret of the period. The first movement showcased the sparkling ,birdlike flute in dialogue with the rippling piano. The second movement had a far more languid feel . The flute seemed stronger here , diving , darting and flying . This was followed by the haunting and delicate (yet with cabaret influence) third movement and then the very fast, spiky and breathless final section.

The last piece was a short shimmering , delicate and fragile Gershwin work ‘A Foggy Day in London Town’ (Arrangement by  Rutter /Tedeschi/ Rampal) that after much enthusiastic applause and a mention of the rest of the season, led to lunch!

The French Connection, part of the Live at Lunch series, took place on Wednesday 2 April 2014 . The show’s running time was  75 minutes without  interval.

For more about Live at Lunch  visit http://www.theconcourse.com.au/event/lunch-time-concert-series-live-lunch