Stephen Hough: in Recital

For all the ardour and visionary zeal that so often permeates Schumann’s big-boned Fantasie and Chopin’s piano sonata swansong, a deep sense of reflection isn’t entirely held at bay. Three elegantly-coutured pieces by Cécile Chaminade establish a mood that is compounded by Hough’s Sonatina Nostalgica, an affectionate essay probing the potency of whimsy, reminiscence, and belonging.

Painter, author, pianist, composer, and hat connoisseur, Stephen Hough is the ultimate polymath whose insatiable curiosity informs everything he does. Earlier this year he gave the premiere performances of his new piano concerto, The World of Yesterday. His playing, suggests International Piano, ‘is of an enviable freedom and flexibility, his shot-silk pianissimos endlessly blossoming with colour and nuance’, ‘Schumann from the top drawer’ maintains BBC Record Review.