When the concert that launched Perth's new Piano Sundays series of afternoon recitals was played at London's Wigmore Hall last week and broadcast on Radio 3, pianist Steven Osborne seemed uncharacteristically reticent to explain the selection of Beethoven's works he was about to play.
He was no more voluble here, leaving the talking to Perth's classical programmer James Waters, Provost Liz Grant and our own Michael Tumelty - and the stage with a affectionate pat for the piano he chose for the hall.
In truth, the instrument probably means less to Osborne (who must encounter many fine Steinways) than it does to the venue's clientele, who turned up in force to hear the juxtaposition of some of Beethoven's prettiest piano music with some of his most dense and intense.
In the Opus 33 Bagatelles we hear bold experiments in keyboard technique that would be developed in the architecture of "Waldstein" Sonata, Opus 53, of 1805. The poise and changes of pace in Osborne's reading of the sonata communicated precisely the manipulation of our impression of the passage of time that the composer achieves.
The later Opus 119 Bagatelles are simultaneously more playful and more thoughtful than their predecessors, and preceded the complex and contemplative Sonata No 32, Opus 111, as thorough an exploration of a fairly brief musical idea as can be found in music from Bach to the present.
With the briefest of bows, Osborne went from one piece to the other and found the full range of expression in both, including a syncopated section of the Sonata that would make any listener question the birthdate of jazz. Roll over Meade Lux Lewis and tell Scott Joplin the news.
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