Graham Morris is a distinguished young 'cellist, winner of the Diane Bolton Prize at the Royal Northern College of Music.. He is coming to the URC next week to give the latest of our enterprising series of Lunchtime Recitals, and with him is the pianist John Peace, aready well-known to us as a soloist (most notably in the Grieg Concerto at
the recent Town Hall concert). Their programme is one not to be missed, including as it does two immortal masterpieces and one work of very doubtful seriousness.

Bach's Suites for solo 'cello are truly remarkable works. He dispenses with the normal keyboard-and-bass accompaniment (continuo as it was called in his day), but his sense of the underlying harmony directing the course of the music is so strong that we "hear" the harmony in our heads and don't need it to be actually played. Graham will play the Suite No. 1 in G -- profound and life-enhancing.

A couple of generations later, the language of music was exploring new paths, and no composer could have attempted what Bach did. For Schubert, the piano was no longer just accompanying, but partnering, the "solo" instrument. Hios "Arpeggione" Sonata was actually written for a rather weird string instrument of that name, now long extinct -- but it goes beautifully on the 'cello and is a lovely work.

As for Paganini's "Variations on One String on a theme by Rossini", your guess is as good as mine, but if you aren't at the recital you may never know !

The recital is on Wednesday, 27th August, at 1 p.m., and tickets are £5 at the door.

Ted Kirk