An evening where music and space merged, and two musicians with their passion brought the chapel and the audience into complete rapture.
On Saturday, September 20, Klassiek in de Kapel organized an evening of chamber music in the atmospheric and intimate Sint-Rochuskapel in Mariadal in Hoegaarden. Violinist Elsa de Lacerda and pianist Matthieu Idmtal, both masters of their craft, treated listeners to three sonatas by Mozart (KV301, KV304, and KV296) and Grieg's gripping Third Sonata for violin and piano.
The chapel, with its warm and enveloping acoustics, proved to be the perfect setting for this recital. From the opening notes, the music filled the space completely, as if every stone of the chapel began to vibrate along. De Lacerda and Idmtal made the acoustics their ally: their playing breathed in the space, and the space seemed to breathe back into their music.
Mozart's sonatas presented themselves as three musical seasons. The Sonata KV301 in G major sounded like a fresh spring, light and elegant, with violin and piano playfully approaching each other as in an intimate conversation. The Sonata KV304 in D minor was quite different—dark and charged, as if Mozart were giving voice to autumn shadows. Here the musicians let the delicate intensity speak with a dramatic force that touched deeply. A brief pause afterward offered time to breathe and reflect, before KV296 in C major filled the chapel with bright summer light. This sonata radiated vitality and sparkling energy, playful and transparent as sunlight falling through glass.
With Grieg's Third Sonata for violin and piano, the atmosphere shifted. The lyrical melodies evoked green mountain landscapes and fresh forests, while stormy passages sounded like natural forces descending from Norwegian fjords. Idmtal's piano sometimes thundered like a storm, then babbled like a stream, while de Lacerda's violin floated like a voice that alternately whispered, jubilated, and lamented. There was a raw honesty and spontaneous power in their playing that left no one untouched. The audience was swept up in a tide of emotions, where restrained moments and fiery outbursts followed each other in one breath.
What made this evening so special was the blend of control and surrender. De Lacerda and Idmtal gave the notes scent, color, and tangibility. Their connection, their passion, and their spontaneity ensured that the listeners remained captivated until the final note.
When the last sounds of Grieg faded away, the silence lasted only briefly: the audience leaped to their feet and rewarded the musicians with a standing ovation. For minutes, the thunderous applause continued, a well-deserved tribute to two exceptional artists who had completely transformed Sint-Rochuskapel into music for one evening.