The Piano Concert

In a thundering near-finale to the musical term, eighty-four hands spread over four pianos and fifteen pieces made light of some marvellously complex opi and some charmingly gentle ones to delight and entertain an enthusiastic audience. Bracketed by two new compositions of Mr Stafford’s for sixteen hands (with a little help from Brahms for the second of them) which positively flew off the page, and interspersed with a comic interlude from composer and OW Emily Wyke (with a little help from Mr Stafford), our happy duetting volunteers played a great mix of jazz and classical, modern and ancient, with barely time to draw breath between each. Inspired and delightful – this was music with a metaphorical cheeky smile writ large.