he F-A-E Sonata is quite a Liquorice Allsorts work. Three composers, Dietrich, Schumann, and Brahms got together to compose it as a birthday present for famed violinist Joseph Joachim. Joachim had to play the sonata at sight, and he also had to guess which composer had written which movement. In the performance given by Thomas Gould (violin) and John Reid (piano) for the Oxford Chamber Music Society, the composer quiz was easy - Dietrich is not in the same league as the other two, and the forceful opening chords of Brahms's movement identified him in three seconds flat. Schumann, meanwhile, contributed a notoriously tricky piece of sight-reading as a finale: "It must have been quite a surprise to Joachim," Gould remarked with a metaphorical wiping of the brow as he reached the end.

The concert began with Mozart's Sonata in G major, K.379. Gould's brittle tone contrasted appropriately with Reid's more relaxed piano, in a first movement reminiscent of Haydn's Sturm und Drang style. The second movement consists of a theme and variations - including a witty pizzicato section, made all the more attractive here by being played with delightful understatement. Next came Schubert's Sonata in A minor, D821, written to give a real work out to an arpeggione, a long-extinct variety of bowed guitar. This music seemed to suit Gould and Reid particularly well, with Gould's earlier brittle tone becoming smoother and sweeter, particularly in the upper register. He has a notable ability to hold a steady soft note, and to send out a singing melody, with Reid supplying appropriately supportive accompaniment.

Violin and piano were treated more as equals in the last work played, Introduction and Rondo in B minor for Violin and Piano, D895, again by Schubert - of the advertised finale, Szymanowski's Mythes, there was no sign. D895 alternates typical Schubertian flow and charm with much more aggressive passages. Gould and Reid demonstrated the contrasts with aplomb.