It is good to know we have access to live music as well as the many excellent recordings being streamed via YouTube. The most recent of these from Hastings International Piano Festival, which I caught up with on Saturday morning, was given by Fumiya Koido, winner of the 2019 Piano Concerto Competition.

Though the recital runs for only just over quarter of an hour, it seems to reflect the passing of a whole day.

He opens with Chopin’s Etude Op10 No11, its light, delicate, uplifting beauty ideally suited to the start of the day – particularly when the news seems to be increasingly bleak. This was followed by the first movement of Haydn’s Sonata No33 in C minor. We are certainly into the afternoon here – and a Spring afternoon at that, with the constant subtle changes of mood and texture. If at times it seems introspective, the moments soon pass and the optimism returns. The final item was the first movement of Scriabin’s Sonata No3 Op23, which, with its fiery dynamic, is certainly a work for the late evening, possibly with a large glass of claret.

The mood changes are more extrovert and demanding, and Fuyima Koido brings a real passion to his playing, which communicates well despite the fact that he is isolated in a rather large studio.

Earlier in the series we had heard Roman Kosyakov playing Haydn and Tchaikovsky, and Su Yeon Kim bringing us a Chopin Nocturne and Ballade.  Keep up to date with all the events on www.hastingsinternationalpiano.org.