Wearing a suit that looked as if it might have been made from a blue-patterned table cloth (with red and white shoes to match) and, after the interval, an even more improbable ensemble in pale pink and mauve, Norwegian pianist Aksel Kolstad presented a recital with a difference.

Kolstad has a remarkable command of the keyboard with fingers capable of astonishing feats of facility. In a recital devoted entirely to his own compositions, his Harlequin Variations was a highlight. It opens with the aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations, exquisitely played, followed by a series of frankly dazzling takes on the theme, all offered with Liszt-like nimbleness.

Goldfish Preludes were no less engaging, introduced by virtuosic keyboard shimmerings and filigree-light arabesques, and later there was an obeisance to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring....

By Neville Cohn, The West Australian

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