At this time of increasing turmoil, music of this kind and variety from these musicians is what we need. Wide-ranging in so many ways: both emotionally and across many cultures, writes Stephen Samways.

The trio, Kosmos, gave their astounding performance at the Courtenay Centre in Newton Abbot on March 20. Dazzling musicianship and a wide-ranging repertoire held the audience’s attention throughout the evening.

Harriet Mackenzie, violinist, viola player Meg-Rosaleen Hamilton and Serbian-born classical accordionist Milo Milivojevic began their recital with Armenaki-Shapiro’s Korohod from Greece. Ukrainian dances with added jazzy undercurrents followed. Harriet had played the Sibelius Violin Concerto in the Ukraine, discovering the wealth of folk music there.

Following this, Kosmos played Red Dawn, originally a song by Serbian lawyer, soldier and poet Vasilije Vasa Nikolic. Harriet recited the poem with an emotive accompaniment reflecting the sadness of the words.

Pinnacle Ridge combines a contemporary Scottish reel inspired by the Cuillin Mountain Range on the Isle of Skye and a Swedish Snus Waltz. Snus is a Swedish smokeless tobacco placed under the upper lip and associated with dancing. The influence of the minimalist composer Philip Glass is also apparent in this piece.

The Inner Life of the Person you Thought You Knew provided moments of inner reflection. Eric Satie is the influence here.

Zigeunerweisen- Gypsy Aires is by the Spanish composer Pablo de Sarasate composed after he had visited Franz Liszt in Budapest where he heard Hungarian folk music. This spectacularly difficult music enhanced by the players excited everyone.

The Argentinian composer and pianist Ariel Pirotti wrote his Violin Concerto for Harriet which she recently premiered. We were treated to his tango ‘Antonio Porteno’ with its prominent part for Button Accordion in this arrangement. This infectious music makes you feel like dancing!

Milos advised us that his accordion weighed fifteen kilos. To play it takes great strength and energy. He explained how the instrument works, demonstrating to the intrigued audience its huge variety of tone: it can produce the sound of a contrabassoon and a piccolo. Milos even played the opening of Bach’s Toccata in D minor to illustrate its vast range!

In contrast to the tango, the ‘Romance’ by the American composer Amy Beach is considered to be a cornerstone of American chamber music. Written in 1893, and originally for violin and piano and in three sections, the intimate and passionate nature of this music could be felt.

Eyes Like Yours is a traditional nissiotiko, literally ‘island style’ piece from the Greek Aegean Islands. Kosmos ingeniously combined this with a tango by the Argentinian composer Piazzolla giving it additional rhythmic complexity.

Arcangelo Corelli, a composer of the seventeenth/eighteenth centuries was the source of the Adagio originally from a violin sonata from a set of twelve published in January 1700. The lyrical nature with its contrasting middle section was a delight.

To end, The Lark - bringing together part of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ masterpiece The Lark Ascending, combined with references to Hungarian folk songs, Bach! and a traditional Roma (Gypsy) song - is such an imaginative combination.

We were treated to an encore, the Czardas by Vittorio Monti again inspired by Hungarian music: a thrilling end to a great performance.