IF you couldn’t see pianist Stephen Hough’s hands, you would not know he was playing a piece of music.
His entire body for the majority of his Brighton Festival performance is completely still, eyes fixed in front of him.
Dressed in a dark collar-less shirt and trousers he looks like a dentist - and like any good dentist everything he does is calm and measured.
Even the best body language expert would struggle to take anything from his clinical posture and motionless, effortless style.
Yet the 53-year-old does all the talking he needs through his fingers.
Playing pieces by Debussy and Chopin, he sits side-on to the Glyndebourne audience for the two-hour performance.
They are perhaps not the most accessible pieces ever written, yet Hough’s musical mastery brings to life their subtle themes of joy, pain and sorrow.
His timing is impeccable and he makes the most delicate notes resonate with every audience member.
When he does finally speak at the end of recital, it brings a momentary lapse in the magic. His voice – no offence Stephen –so ordinary and recognisable, compared to his extraordinary and exquisite musical talent.
Rapturous applause saw him return with a tribute to ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya who died aged 89 on Saturday.
Beautiful, delicate and memorable.
THREE STARS
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