Whizzkid child prodigies are one thing - and generally obnoxious at that - but to find a young performer whose innate musicianship matches or even outstrips a formidable technique is something quite different.
Benjamin Grosvenor is one such genuine phenomenon, the maturity of his pianism belying his mere 13 years.
In his account of Chopin's Second Piano Concerto with the Birmingham Schools' Symphony Orchestra on Saturday he brought a tremendous maturity of tone and pedalling, a platform manner which focused the attention entirely onto the music, and a command of rubato which allowed all the composer's filigree, operatically derived, to sit comfortably within wellshaped phrases.
This stunning artistry was matched by the musicianly response of the BSSO under the reassuring baton of Peter Bridle. This concerto, gives little opportunity for the players to shine in their own right, needing to control their balance in these restrained textures, and with the responsibility to listen so sympathetically to the ebb and flow of the soloist's poetry.
The youngsters succeeded triumphantly, combining with Grosvenor in a reading which inspired astonishment at the quality of their music-making.
After a wittily presented, refreshing sorbet of an encore from Grosvenor in the shape of "I Got Rhythm" from the Gershwin Songbook, the BSSO sent us into the frost and fog with a well-wrought, clearly-defined Sibelius Symphony no.3.
Christopher Morley
