MUSIC

The program concluded with Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola in B-flat, K. 424, mature Mozart and beautifully composed with angular melodies and spare harmonies that sometime sound baroque, sometimes strikingly modern and occasionally like Mozart. Ngwenyama and Chen (on viola) explored the music's intricacies with fine-tuned perception.

-- Joseph McLellan

Young Concert Artists

It takes a bit of an adventurous streak to attend a trumpet recital featuring an unfamiliar repertoire, but the audience at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater on Sunday was well rewarded for its fortitude. Young Concert Artists, the organization responsible for debuting such now-renowned musicians as Pinchas Zukerman and Emanuel Ax, presented its latest wunderkind: 19-year old French trumpet player David Guerrier. Along with pianist Steven Beck, Guerrier filled the hall with his confident, well-rounded sound. The works on the program spanned the 20th century, with the standouts being pieces on either end of the chronological spectrum.

Oskar Boehme's 1899 Concerto in F Minor harked back to the grand romantic tradition of the 19th century. The piece fit Guerrier like a second skin. He handled the runs and arpeggios cleanly and effortlessly, dabbed the slow movement with subtlety and lent just the right dash of whimsy to the finale.

"Tanz Fantasie for Trumpet and Piano," written in 1997 by young French composer Thierry Escaich, is a short but dynamic work that allowed Guerrier to display his technique with electric energy, bringing musical significance to each note. Sonatas by Halsey Stevens and Paul Hindemith, composed in mid-century, enjoyed equally solid performances and interpretation.

Although Guerrier was the main event, his very capable accompanist weighed in with two works for piano alone. Beck was quite at home with the lovely Stravinsky Serenade and Three Etudes by Debussy. In both pieces he flowingly delivered cascading runs and gave the jazz-influenced rhythms just the right shine.

-- Gail Wein

Mary Lou Lord

"I'm used to playing in the subway," Mary Lou Lord said with a grin from Iota's stage on Sunday night. "Or anyplace else I'm welcome." While she got her start as a solo busker in the Boston T system, Lord has since grown comfortable playing with a full band. At Iota she was joined by members of New York's Gingersol, who opened the show with a harmony-packed set reminiscent of the Gin Blossoms.

Lord's set began and ended solo, her folky soprano accompanying her acoustic guitar, which resisted nearly every retuning attempt. Lord filled the empty spaces with self-deprecating banter, consistently charming the crowd amid shouted requests before she played her first chord.

About a third of her 90-minute set previewed songs from her upcoming album, "Baby Blue," most of which was written by longtime collaborator Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond. Lord is known for playing other people's songs, and most of her set consisted of covers (ranging from Irish rockers the Pogues to indie-rock superstars Guided by Voices). Because she's so successful at selecting and interpreting the songs of others to fit her own life, these meshed smoothly with the few originals she played.

Although most of the set was upbeat, Lord got a little misty-eyed when talking about her friend Elliott Smith, who died late last year. Years ago, they had played on the street during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, surrounded by friends from the Kill Rock Stars label, which gave them their start. She dedicated to Smith's memory a tearful version of Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go," a well-chosen end to a night of perfectly selected songs.

-- Catherine P. Lewis