{TABLE} Partita for solo violin ............... Vytautas Barkauskas Two pieces for solo piano ............. Arvo Part Fratres ............................... Arvo Part Partita for violin and piano .......... Lutoslawski {/TABLE} IT was good to see a large audience at yesterday's lunchtime concert in the Bank of Ireland "Mostly Modern" series. Around 100 people came to the bank's arts centre in Foster Place, Dublin, to hear Fionnuala Hunt (violin) and Una Hunt (piano) play music from north eastern Europe, all composed since 1967.

The programme included two of the most famous composers from the former Soviet bloc - Arvo Piart (Estonia) and Lutoslawski (Poland). The Lithuanian, Vytautas Barkauskas, is less well known; but, his Partita for solo violin was worth hearing - five movements, each with one or two strong yet uncomplicated ideas which explore specific violin sonorities and techniques.

Fionnuala Hunt's assertive playing was persuasive in this piece, and in the work after which the concert was titled, Part's Fratres. The violin and piano version of this demanding piece (by my last count there were at least six versions for various instrumental combinations) is in many ways more convincing than the more famous orchestral version. The composer adapts the underlying idea to suit his forces, so each version is a reworking rather than a mere arrangement. Unlike some of the others, this version includes much overt virtuosity. It came across handsomely, even though I did find the tempo sometimes overpressed.

Una Hunt gave a neat performance of Part's Two Pieces for Solo Piano; but the concert was dominated by Lutoslawski's Partita for violin and piano. I would have welcomed a more combative rhythmic tension between the players; but this performance was nicely shaped, and had commanding vigour.