Featuring a combination of violin by Isabelle Durin and piano by Maxime Zecchini, the motley numbers presented as part of the Musical Tribute to Romance in Cinema were allusive, conveying ardent expressions of love. The recital was jointly presented by Alliance Française du Bengale and Victoria Memorial and was held at the Eastern Quadrangle of VMH.

The pick of the evening was “Hymne à l’amour” from a film on Édith Piaf which created a hypnotic aura with the collaborators providing a rich reflectiveness. Durin’s strokes had breathy phases that added verve to this 1950 song. In “As time goes by” from Casablanca, the duo prioritised style over substance, crafting broad and confident strokes.

In “Por una cabeza” from Schindler’s List, the musicians pushed the significant chords in an inspired approach, thus throwing in a dense, introspective splurge of musical ideas that ranged from soul to ambient. Other numbers, such as the one by John Williams from Memoirs of a Geisha and Philippe Sarde’s “La vie devant soi” from Le Vieux Fusil, created vibes that were tantalisingly engaging.