(4 / 5)

It’s been on the bucket list for a while to see the emerging superstar pianist Khatia Buniatishvili. With her season at the Barbican, she is playing in an array of varied repertoire. This is all very exciting and the time to see her live was upon me. Before this, Academy of St Martin in the Fields set of with Mozart’s Don Giovanni Overture. Director Benjamin Marquise Gilmore lead as first violin, taking over conducting duties without ever needing to conduct. The energy between him and the players is magnetic, Mozart’s spiralling themes and punches hit the audience as they have done for centuries.

Khatia had planned to rather ambitiously perform the solo for two Mozart concerti, though this would fall through. Though her time spent with his Piano Concerto No. 23. This was in many ways perfection, Khatia arrived to the stage in a golden dress, one statement of many. Her playing is effortless (so glad I could see the keys and her hands) graceful yet also violent. Her little moments of conducting, clutching of fists in the air after dramatic passages and her swaying are poetry. This famous concerto has wide appeal and with Khatia playing, each of the three movements were a joy. Her playing of the stupendous Adagio was creamy and oh so right. It’s empowering seeing a musician on this scale. The encore was the very well known Debussy that delighted the audience and left us keen to see her in the new year.

The cancelled other Mozart concerto was replaced respectfully with Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture. The German composer vividly recounted his trip to Scotland with watery cleverness and a sweeping orchestration. Again, the players were were a resounding success, the balance calibrated to a fine set. Fittingly, Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 was the finale. Dubbed the ‘London’, this master of the craft gave thrills and laughs abound. Eccentric in nature, its four movements are curious and noteworthy for their almost ironic tone.

We were then gifted an encore of Sibelius’ Nocturne, the serene flute from Michael Cox the definition of pianissimo. I could not have found a better wrap up.