Conviction, passion and clarity: Sir Stephen Hough at Wigmore Hall

By Christopher Woodley, 20 May 2026

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“very finely caught the contrast of rich luminosity and brooding expression”

Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 19 May 2026

Schubert, Klavierstücke no. 2 in E flat major, D946/2

Brahms, 6 Pieces for Piano: Intermezzo in E flat minor, Op.118 no.6

Schoenberg, Six Little Piano Pieces Op.19

Stockhausen, Klavierstück III

Beethoven, Bagatelle for piano, Op.119 no.10

Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 21 in C major "Waldstein", Op.53

Schumann, Carnaval, Op.9

Various, Mary Poppins Suite (arr. Stephen Hough)

Sir Stephen Hough, Piano

Stephen Hough makes a convincing case for Rachmaninov 1 with the RSNO

Simon Thompson, 24th April

On a return visit to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Wilson shapes A London Symphony with melancholy sweep.

****1

Hindoyan and Hough bring a new dream team to Liverpool

Glyn Mon Hughes, 27th November

Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto comes alive as Stephen Hough joins Domingo Hindoyan and the RLPO in an explosive performance of this dramatic work.

*****

Majestic Brahms from Sir Stephen Hough and Elim Chan in Sydney

Zoltán Szabó, 17th May

Elim Chan expertly conducts the SSO through a varied programme featuring an Australian fanfare, Russian ballet music and Brahms' First Piano Concerto with Sir Stephen Hough.

****1

A knight-errant on the road: Sir Stephen Hough at the Barbican

Christopher Woodley, 4th December

Sir Stephen Hough continues his advocacy of Chaminade with three of her miniatures and gives passionate performances of Schumann' and Chopin.

****1

Stephen Hough: old-school virtuosity without the showmanship

Phil Parker, 29th November

Mary Poppins would surely have a word for Sir Stephen Hough’s Crucible Playhouse recital... and she’d be right.

****1

Sir Mark Elder and the CBSO challenge expectations

Simon Cummings, 16th October

Together with soloist Sir Stephen Hough, the CBSO and Sir Mark Elder reinvent Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, present the complex non-narrative of Janáček The Fiddler's Child and suggest real happiness in Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony.

****1

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Christopher Woodley

Christopher’s professional background is in the public sector, and includes a spell in music librarianship. A composer, he is a keen follower of contemporary music and has attended all but four editions of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, including the first concert in 1978. Other musical passions include a fascination with the “bad boys” of the New Complexity fixation, particularly the god-like Brian Ferneyhough – arguably the best thing to have come out of Coventry. When not listening to Boulez, Christopher relaxes by frequenting the fields, orchards, woodlands and pubs on the Weald of Kent, where he lives.

Conviction, passion and clarity of vision: Sir Stephen Hough at Wigmore Hall