Bela Bartok’s 44 Duos for Two Violins were written at the behest of music director Erich Doflein as a series of exercises for tuition, though it is clear he must have intended some for the stage, for they are exquisite miniatures.

Royal Northern Sinfonia leader Bradley Creswick and co-leader Kyra Humphreys treated an audience at Sage Gateshead to a masterclass in violin technique when they performed a selection at Sage Gateshead as part of the summer chamber series.

Infused with the strains of Eastern European folksong and dance, the pieces advance in difficulty, though they were performed in no particular order.

Creswick and Humphreys engaged the audience throughout with witty comments, between scintillating accounts, including a whirling Romanian Dance, pulsating Hungarian Song and gentle Sicilian lullaby.

Particularly enjoyable was the Mosquito, which evoked the delicate flight of the insect, before its stinging attack.

A cheeky Teasing Song raised smiles, while the concluding Pizzicato was brilliantly pulled off.

Sandwiched in the middle of Bartok’s pieces was a selection of duos written in a blaze of creativity by his devotee, Luciano Beriot.

The concert was topped and tailed with performances by an ensemble of RNS players who have been taking the flame of chamber music to smaller venues throughout the region.

Violinists Iona Brown and Sarah Roberts, along with violist Tegwen Jones and cellist Gabriel Waite opened with a refined account of Beethoven’s String Quartet No 2 in G major "Compliments".

They rounded off with a rousing rendition of Schubert’s String Quartet No 14 "Death and the Maiden".

The opening movement, with its defiant motif of one long note followed by a catchy three-note motif, had a sense of urgency. The players generated a rich depth of sound and responded to each other with intuitive spontaneity. Waite’s elegiac cello melody in the slow movement was wonderful. The final movement hurtled helter-skelter to a thrilling climax.

Gavin Engelbrecht