The oboe is not really considered the 'star' of a traditional orchestra, and nor when we consider chamber music is it the first instrument that comes to mind. We are all aware of its evocative and lyrical tones but rarely is it brought to the fore, let alone in such a moving, evocative and accomplished recital as played by Nicholas Daniel at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building on Friday night.

Accompanied, spurred and complemented by Charles Owen's sensitive piano playing the pair wove their way through a magical, thought-provoking and wide ranging repertoire of music crossing ages, tastes and techniques – from Bach and Schumann through to three twentieth century composers: Haas, Rubbra and York Bowen. For me the stand out piece was Schumann's Three Romances where the playing was sophisticated and sensitive, with the oboe providing the emotional and extremely poignant counter-point to the alternately thrumming and skipping notes of the piano. The joy expressed in the high-notes of the oboe were grounded in the sadness of the piano and I was pleased when we were treated to an ethereal and solemn rendition of a Schumann Even Song as an encore.

The trust and empathy between Nicholas Daniel and Charles Owen was apparent throughout the concert and indeed they played their first piece together, in the Jacqueline du Pré Building, in 2001. Consequently, they clearly have a deep-seated rapport. Nicholas Daniel extended this bon ami to the audience whom he regaled with tales of his musical exploits and gave great insight into the background of the composers and pieces they were playing, which was particularly informative regarding the modern work.

It was probably coincidental but was particularly apposite this week when anti-Semitism has been so widely discussed that they should play a piece by the Czech composer Pavel Haas, who died prematurely in Auschwitz in 1944. Musically this was the most challenging piece, roiling around a gamut of harmonies and musical juxtapositions ultimately resolved in the crying high notes of the oboe and piano's refined and sensitive syncopation echoing peeling bells. However, Charles Owen's playing was at its most accomplished in the 'Rubbra Sonata' where his playing seemed like the ripples on silk blown by the breeze of the sweet notes of Nicholas Daniel's oboe.

The backbone of the concert proved to be Bach: from the opening of the recital with the light skipping notes of the allegro of his 'Sonata in E flat', through its melancholic and plaintive middle movement and returning to a more ebullient mood in the closing, cavorting allegro. The audience also greatly enjoyed the Bach 'Sonata in A major' which opened the second half of the concert. Although originally written for flute and harpsichord, this interpretation worked well particularly in the passages where wind and string are so closely intertwined, evoking great melancholy in the 'Largo e dolce' whose intricacies are resolved in the virtuoso high notes of the final allegro.

The Jacqueline du Pré Building proved a perfect setting – any larger space would have swallowed the delicate nuances of Nicholas Daniel's and Charles Owen's playing – and their eclectic repertoire was well-played and well-received by an audience well-aware of the musical treat they were experiencing.