Our friend Alan persuades us to see this well-known piano and cello duo perform at the Edna Rizley Griffin concert hall in Fort Collins, even going so far as to buy me a ticket when I was noncommittal. I’m glad he did. The Griffin hall is small and intimate, which allows for a much more personal impression of artists than a big concert hall. These two have a nice dynamic where the outgoing Han talks about the music enthusiastically, while Finckel elaborates and comments with facial expressions and gestures. The Jay and Silent Bob of classical music. And they do deliver some music, a whirlwind history of the piano and cello starting with Bach. They make all of the music feel very alive and present, clearly communicating with each other in every moment of it. I think the combination of the intimate venue and their vitality enables me to absorb more music than I usually can, including an encore Rachmaninoff movement. The rest of the program:

1. Sonata for Viola da Gamba in G Major, BMV 1027, Johann Sebastian Bach
2. Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69, Ludwig van Beethoven
3. Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70, Robert Schumann
4. Sonata for the Cello and Piano, Claude Debussy
5. Sonata in C for Cello and Piano, Op. 65, Benjamin Britten