Duo sparkles despite patchy programming Guitarist Karin Schaupp. MUSIC Karin Schaupp and Pavel Steidl Perth Concert Hall, Perth Festival, February 22 IT'S hard to believe that guitarists Karin Schaupp and Pavel Steidl were playing together for the first time; their on-stage rapport and unified approach to the music suggest a much longer association. German-born Schaupp moved to Australia at the age of eight and has built an impressive international career as a soloist and chamber music player. Steidl, who grew up near Prague, is also a renowned performer with a particular affinity for playing early guitar music on instruments of the period. Both perform with a highly charged intensity and fine attention to detail. Steidl's playing is accompanied by a repertoire of amusing facial gestures; mouthing the rhythm, grimacing, smiling, looking upwards for high notes. Schaupp, by comparison, maintains a deeply focused, serious countenance. In bringing these two celebrated performers together, Musica Viva has created a wide-ranging program of guitar duets, from 19th-century Vienna to late 20th-century Australia. To break up the performances and help the audience through this musical journey, Schaupp and Steidl provided a linking commentary between pieces. Although the concept is strong and the music-making first rate, with some uneven programming, the concert itself didn't hang together as well as expected. There were certainly a number of highlights. Australian composer Phillip Houghton's suite, Brolga, was a stand-out with its brilliant, idiomatic writing and imaginative interplay. In the hands of Schaupp and Steidl it sparkled with energy and good humour. Djanaba by Ross Edwards was also beautifully played by Schaupp as was Steidl's solo piece by Paganini. Works by Spanish composers Granados and Albeniz were dispatched with considerable flair, the players making the most of their musical colour and rhythmic character. However, the concert got off to a disappointing start with some charming but unmemorable pieces by little-known composers Johann Mertz and Fernando Sor. Despite being elegantly played, it seemed a miscalculation to program such slight pieces for the first 25 minutes of the concert. Things improved considerably with Paganini's Minuetto, a more engaging work that highlights Steidl's virtuosity and natural showmanship. An awkward-sounding arrangement by Julian Bream of two movements from a Schubert string quartet also missed the mark. The scripted text, while helpful, felt too long-winded at times and overly academic. Schaupp and Steidl are engaging performers with a wonderfully eloquent and witty stage presence. I'd be inclined to let them speak for themselves. City Recital Hall, Sydney, tonight and March 9; Melbourne Recital Centre, tomorrow and March 2; Llewellyn Hall, Canberra, Thursday; Brisbane Conservatorium, March 6; Adelaide Town Hall, March 12.