An extraordinary concert in St George’s Hanover Square, opposite the original Steinway Hall, which was where Shura Cherkassky had his funeral in 1996 .

I have not been back since, and Steinway is now Sotherby’s having moved to fresher fields on the other side of Bond Street .

Sitting next to Handel’s organ in the loft of the church, suddenly there appeared a familiar face I had not seen for twenty years from when we had been on the Monza jury together. Marcel Baudet, renowned teacher of so many wonderful musicians at the Menuhin School two of whom live in my house : Damir Duramovic and Can Arisoy. He is now based in Amsterdam where for many years he has founded a piano competition. It was he and the composer and former director of the Menuhin School, Malcom Singer, who had tipped me off about a truly exceptional talent who would be performing in London tonight

We were privileged to hear this year’s YPF winner, Paul Salard, playing Beethoven Third Concerto with the Orpheus Sinfonia.

A programme that included two London premiere’s by Judith Weir ,Master of the Kings Music and Malcolm Singer, former director of the Menuhin School

A young teenage pianist who is already a mature master. Playing stripped of all rhetoric but with penetrating musicianship of refined beauty. Fluidity and luminosity allied to a great temperament and masterly control . From the very first entry of the piano it was clear that here was a true interpreter with something to say. A penetrating look at the score, delving deeply to find the original inspiration when Beethoven would sit at the piano and often improvise. What a surprise when this young man instead of attacking Beethoven’s cadenza he treated us to his own improvised, taking in Beethoven’s fifth and a fugato on the themes of this third . Finding the trail back to the entry of the orchestra with the same magic that Beethoven reserved for this and his fourth concerto.

A ‘Largo’ of such beauty , where the opening chords were voiced in a way that the bass became the anchor that I had never been aware of until today . This is an ‘artist ‘ who really listens to himself and the orchestra with x ray vision where even the undulating waves of notes accompanying the orchestra were truly miraculous. What fun he had with the Rondo that with mischievous rhythmic elan he brought it to life as it shot out of the final dignified orchestral chord of the Largo. Octaves played alla Rubinstein not for self indulgence but to give the same rhythmic edge to the sound before it dissolves into a moment of sublime Schubertian beauty. What a wonder was his aristocratic control with the irresistible charm he gave to the Presto after Beethoven’s short cadenza . Usually played helter skelter, here was a control of Arrau proportions . Instead of a call to arms it brought a smile and a raised eyebrow to our face .

This young man is also a master pianist in love with the piano and although there were one or two ‘tricks of the trade’ as Sidney Harrison ,my mentor would have called them. They were just a kick start to certain brilliant passages always allied to a musical end. But this young man is in love with the voice of the piano just like Cherkassky whose funeral I attended in this very church in 1996 . Shura seduced again even on that occasion with the unique wondrous sounds of the Saint Säens / Godowsky Swan . It was of course a recording as the congregation including Alfred Brendel and Murray Perahia had a tear in their eye touched by the sublime beauty from a magician who had been called to a far loftier place.

Paul is a remarkable musician with a palette of sounds, an integrity and humility as he delves deeply into the scores, but like Shura he is also a man in love with the piano. He is a true magician, like Shura, who can persuade us that there is far more to this box of hammers and strings that can be can be made to sing with the voice of a Caballe or the sumptuous sound of the Philadelphia

And so it was that Paul put aside his refined classical training letting his hair down with a spine tingling account of the Wedding March in Horowitz’s diabolical transcription inspired by Liszt

Breathtaking brilliance and heart stopping beauty as Paul ,the showman, was a man flying high on the trapeze with us waiting to see if he would fall. Risking all and creating the same voluptuous excitement that was Shura’s .

After such pianistic fireworks he came back to play Rachmaninov’s D major Prelude op 23 n 4 but not with the plummy cantabile that we are used to hearing, but with a subtle whispered searching radiance of a man delving deep into the piano and finding gold dust that he disseminated into our very being

What an evening of music making, with the sumptuous richness above all from the cellos in Judith Weirs Planet piece . Thomas Carroll , renowned cellist himself , extracting rich wonderful sounds from his Orpheus Sinfonia .

And a much augmented orchestra that gave more atmospheric possibilities to Malcolm Singer’s extraordinary London Landscapes

Ending with the sunny brilliance of Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony from an orchestra living up to the highest standards as it brings together outstanding emerging and established musicians delivering exceptionally fine performances