<<  -- 2 --  Malcolm Troup    A CHINESE WUNDERKIND

The solo part of the programme progressed from the 'easy' pieces of Debussy's Children's Corner to three 'difficult' Chopin études Op 10 -- the ease, speed and clarity with which he dashed off the fearsomely chromatic Op 10 No 3 leaving no doubt as to his peerless powers of execution. The Variations brillantes Op 12 which concluded this first half, however lacking in adult weight and bravura, were, like all else, music-making of a high order, with an unflustered warmth of tone (despite his typically Shanghai arched fingers) and naturalness as remote as could be from the usual high-octane razor-sharp articulation of present day competition-fodder. It was as if we were being taken into Niu Niu's confidence about what the music meant to him and should mean to us. So far so good!

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