Yulianna Avdeeva – exhilarating and articulate with natural verve

Wigmore Hall, London
The Russian’s Wigmore debut demonstrated newfound warmth and generosity in her playing, while retaining a formidable concentration

In 2010, when Yulianna Avdeeva gave her first London recital after winning the Warsaw Chopin piano competition critics heard too much steely dominance in her playing. One can only assume that something good must have happened to Avdeeva in the intervening years, because in this Wigmore debut recital her playing was generous and warm, though the concentration was absolutely formidable.

She began with Bach’s second English suite, well controlled but without rigidity, the tone rich in the Russian manner, the forward propulsion infectious. In the ornate Sarabande Avdeeva showed she can contain the natural verve of her playing when she needs to, and the conversation between the hands had natural grace. The closing Gigue was grandly done, exhilarating and articulate.

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