César Franck’s 1886 Violin Sonata is heard in a variety of forms – there are version for viola, cello, flute and even tuba – but it is in the original violin form that the work has the most power, particularly in the hands of a violinist as good as Pinchas Zukerman. Joined by Angela Cheng on the piano, Zukerman opened the second concert of the Musica Viva Festival with the Romantic powerhouse, more than demonstrating why he has received such accolades as a violinist.

Zukerman’s sound was commanding – mesmerisingly so – as he plunged into Franck’s sweeping melodic lines. There was no body lost in his molten high register, and his sound grew throatier as the drama of the second movement built, Cheng’s piano roiling underneath. The pair’s ensemble was organic and impeccable – though perhaps more sound from the piano would have given the work more of a sense of equal partnership, Zukerman was certainly never in any danger of being swamped.

As it was, though, it’s rare to hear a violin and piano duo sound so powerful, Zukerman’s vibrato throbbing and his tasteful slides giving the melodies a liquid quality. Incisive double-stops cut through the recitative that opens the...