Vladimir Ovchinnikov, the distinguished Russian pianist, is well known to Watford music-lovers. He has often appeared as a soloist in orchestral concerts at Watford Colosseum. Because the Colosseum is closed for refurbishment, he gave this recital of solo piano works by Frederic Chopin, in the Constance Pilkington Hall of the Purcell School in Bushey. Every seat was full, and the audience responded enthusiastically to this programme devoted to a single composer.

Chopin did not mainly compose large-scale works, such as sonatas and concertos, by which most composers made their reputations. Instead, he showed that the solo piano can achieve profundity in shorter pieces, such as those in this recital, selected from various periods of his short life. Some are very well-known, such as the Nocturne, opus 9 no.1. It is a meditation, with subtle rhythms, variations in tempo and expressive harmonic changes. Ovchinnikov showed his mastery of all this, making the piano sing the emotional melodies that were the composer's special gift.

A great deal of Chopin's music makes use of a variety of dance forms. Examples were the Polonaise opus 26 no.1, the Grande valse brillante opus 18 and the similarly described opus 34 and the Polonaise-Fantaisie opus 61. Other pieces were the Fantaisie opus 49 and the Fantaisie-Impromptu opus 66. But perhaps the most challenging work in the programme was the Variations on 'La ci darem la mano' - the first words of a soprano aria from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. The piano begins with a grand introduction and provides an extended musical background to this complex work, from which in due course the famous tune emerges simply and dramatically. It undergoes ingenious changes, interwoven with romantic sequences of decorative pianism. At Ovchinnikov's skilled hands, the themes emerged persuasively from the rich harmonies so characteristic of Chopin.

Reflective emotion is perhaps the outstanding achievement of Chopin's style. But piano design, and especially the effect of the sustaining pedal, have changed since his day (he died at the age of 39 in 1849). The powerful bass and its distorting tendency in this small hall slightly spoils the memory of this otherwise impressive performance.

Graham Mordue