Nottingham

Yu Kosuge (piano)

Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

17 December 2023

4****: William Ruff

“Piano playing of depth, concentration and sharp focus.”

Japanese pianist Yu Kosuge may not be a household name in the UK (yet) but she’s been performing in public ever since her debut with the Tokyo New City Orchestra at the age of nine. Since then she’s notched up an impressive CV, gaining a reputation for her dazzling technique, sensitivity of touch and probing insights into a wide repertoire.

On Sunday morning in Nottingham she began and ended her recital with weighty Mendelssohn and Beethoven. However, the filling in this musical sandwich was more in keeping with the time of year: a selection from Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas Tree) by Franz Liszt, four pieces which brought a festive glow to the occasion. Most people’s idea of Liszt is the white-maned super-virtuoso famed for causing titled ladies around Europe to swoon as he flung cascades of notes (and occasionally his cigar butts) in their direction. However, such an image could not be further from the truth when it comes to his ‘Christmas Tree’. His inspiration was his young granddaughter, to whom he dedicated the set and for whom it was a Christmas present. Liszt conjures up a world in which old carol tunes make an appearance, where bells can he heard pealing across meadows, and where children drift off to sleep soothed by lullabies. Yu Kosuge’s playing was notable for its sensitivity, restraint and minute attention to detail.

She began her recital with Mendelssohn’s Fantasy Op. 28, better known as his ‘Scottish Sonata’, a piece which opens dreamily and ends impetuously. Mendelssohn loved Scotland, its mountains, lakes, music and poetry. He admired the novels of Walter Scott and was fascinated by its history. This Fantasy captures the essence of his Scotland: its turbulent past, its mists, its Celtic musical traditions. Here was Scotland seen through the eyes of a German composer and played vividly by a Japanese artist: such is the international language of music.

To end her programme Yu Kosuge played one of Beethoven’s best-known piano sonatas: the Waldstein. Her playing had depth, concentration and a consistently sharp focus, especially at the opening of the sonata’s huge, pulsating first movement and in its searching slow movement. The finale brought playing of impressive textural clarity and unhindered exuberance, ending with a breathtakingly fast coda. The audience cheered for an encore: Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring was Yu’s popular and festive response.

Yu Kosuge playing in the Sunday Piano Series at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall