Passion | Beyond the Bounds of Decency (Beethoven and Chopin recital)

The power, passion and ravishing beauty of Aidan's playing has dazzled audience ever since he burst onto the musical scene after winning first prize at the Royal Concertgebouw Competition in 2012 at the age of 11. Between 2021–23 Aidan studied with Professor Joanna MacGregor at the Royal Academy of Music where he graduated with Distinction and was awarded the coveted 'Queen's commendation for excellence'.

Tonight we shall hear how Chopin, who wrote almost exclusively small works for the piano, exploited the instrument's technical and expressive boundaries in passionate works from preludes and scherzos to mazurkas and sonatas. One disapproving British music critic denounced the finale of Chopin's Sonata in B minor as going 'beyond the bounds of decency'. On the other hand, Schumann was moved to exclaim, "Hats off, gentlemen, a genius!"