A diverse group of people filled Finney Chapel last Sunday afternoon for an Artist Recital Series concert featuring Janos Starker, the world-renowned cellist. Anticipation filled the air as Starker serenely entered the stage and was warmly welcomed by the audience.

Pianist Shigeo Neriki accompanied Starker, and they started the concert with Beethoven’s Sonata #2 in G minor for Cello and Piano. Beethoven was at the age of 26 and in his traditionally called “early period” when he wrote the piece. In spite of his faithful studies in the Classical Viennese style and other musical traditions, his earlier compositions always contained an exciting perceptiveness of what was to come. The second Cello Sonata has the fiery intensity that is distinctively characteristic of his early Piano Sonata in C minor.

Starker brought an alertness and awareness to Sunday’s performance that was showcased in the afternoon’s opening piece. The slow introduction, the most distinguished part of the sonata, was played in a pensive manner which was repeated throughout the sonata. Nevertheless, the piece had an air of energetic flexibility (which unfortunately was harder to find in the second half of the program). After an imposing introduction and first movement, the piece took on a more composed path. The duo gave the audience a delightful and witty performance of the closing rondos.

Since both Beethoven and Brahms were highly accomplished pianists themselves, the very essence of the sonatas lay as much in the piano part as in the cello part. With Neriki at the piano, this became evident. Thus, the contribution on the piano was of great value for the concert.

The performance also provided a fascinating chance to observe the art of collaboration between a cellist and a pianist done with definite delicacy. It is not often that one comes across such a distinctive partnership and mutual understanding of the music like that which apparently existed among the two.

After the musical complexity of Beethoven, Prokofiev’s Sonata in C major op. 119, made a good contrast in the program. His cello sonata has become a staple in the repertoire. Its reputation in certain quarters as a mellow, somewhat spineless work, may not be deserved. It does have an almost cheery disposition, and it is indeed tuneful. Nevertheless, tuneful works can certainly be deceptive ones. And with the 1949 cello sonata we have such an instance. Beneath its sunny veneer there is more than a hint of tragedy, of cataclysmic finality. To some extent, Starker succeeded in making those qualities visible. The Prokofiev was certainly the piece where Starker’s technical skill became most evident. The long sections of four-stringed pizzicato was one of those places, not to mention the closing section, which was a fine example of virtuous playing from both cello and piano.

The last piece on the program was Brahms Sonata in F major, op 99. The cello sonata, composed in 1887, stands apart from all works of its type. The energy-filled sonata has been said to be one of Brahms’s most inspired creations. There was a quality to Mr. Starkers playing that indicates the musical intelligence that he has cultivated over the years. Yet his energy wasn’t enough to overcome a feeling of routine that emerges in his playing here and there: there were moments of matter-of-fact delivery in the beginning of the sonata, a lackluster fragment in the Adagio. Thus, the whole performance seemed to be more a piece of fine craftsmanship rather than a bold statement.