THIS recital by the highly regarded Yevgeny Sudbin was the first event in the Northern Aldborough Festival’s inaugural Piano Weekend.

A very mixed programme saw him open with Scriabin’s Vers la Flamme, one of his last compositions, which started gently but quickly intensified as it built up to its fiery climax.

A little group of Tchaikovsky works included two Nocturnes, one mostly gentle and wistful, the other more soothing; and two short pieces from The Seasons – an uncharacteristically bouncy and cheerful Barcarolle (June) and a more lyrical but still wistful Troika (November) I.

The first half concluded with the previously unannounced Harmonies du Soir from Liszt’s Transcendental Studies, notable for its remarkably gentle ending.

Sudbin’s early reputation was established with his recordings and performances of Scarlatti Sonatas and it’s easy to see why.

Interesting as the rest of the programme was, these contrasted markedly and the performance was sublime.

The first (K197) was delicate, pearl-like and immediately appealing, perfectly balanced and with an exquisite touch while the next (K455) was sparkling and brilliant, almost tempestuous towards its conclusion with the three others reflective, imperial and sparkling again, all played so fluently.

Medtner’s carefully structured Sonata Tragica had moments of calm setting off its mainly dramatic thrust and controlled intensity.

It was, though, overshadowed by a magnificent, touching and perfectly controlled performance of one of Scriabin’s pieces for left hand only (perhaps the Prelude and Nocturne) performed as an encore followed by a flamboyant arrangement of one of Johann Strauss’s well known dances.

Peter Bevan