Maurizio Pollini: Beethoven, Royal Festival Hall

If there is one solo performer to catch in 2014, it is Maurizio Pollini. Beyond the ubiquity of his name in musical and non-musical circles alike, the awards speak for themselves: he was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1996 (two years after his great friend and compatriot, Claudio Abbado), and The Diapason d’Or and Praemium Imperiale followed in 2001 and 2010 respectively.

While his February recital featuring the works of Chopin has already sold out, it is the second of his London performances, in which he takes on Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata in B flat , that we really urge you to see. Although Pollini has been criticized for his mannered and restrained performing style, it would take a listener with a heart of stone and ears of polystyrene not to be moved by his rendition of the heartbreaking third movement of the Hammerklavier. We also look forward to Pollini’s clockwork fingers taming the gigantic fugue that concludes the piece, for it is in passages like this that Pollini’s unwavering technique truly shines.

If this isn’t enough, it has been confirmed that Pollini will be performing some of Beethoven’s other piano sonatas. These are yet to be announced, but in all honesty we would be rushing to this concert even if the remainder of the programme was devoted to a performance of Joplin’s The Entertainer with one wrist handcuffed to the floor. Tickets are already on sale, and will certainly be sold out very soon, so we implore you to get booking as soon as possible. Do not miss out on this chance to see one of most transcendent piano sonatas ever written performed by one of the greatest musicians of our time.

Tickets: £12- £60

Address & Map:  Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London  

Nearest Tube: Waterloo