“Nothing up my sleeve ladies and gentlemen,” said Beethoven about his Bagatelles Opus 33. Words Imogen Cooper could well have said about her Medici Recital last week.

Poised and measured, as a recitalist Cooper exuded elegant pianism, intellect and finesse. There were no frills. No slick platform chatter, no swooped arms, head throws, cycled elbows, harmonic savagery, not a hint of showbiz or histrionics at the keys. No encore.

The programme design was lean, conceptual, truth be told a little “bitty,” all repertoire driven towards Beethoven’s beautiful, confessional Sonata Op. 110 in A Flat Major. One of the big three composed between 1820 and 1822 that comprise the composer’s last hurrah in the piano sonata genre.

First stop were the Op.33 Bagatelles a reflection of Beethoven’s early style. Cooper’s delivery of this magnificent seven plumbed the multiple dimensions of the work – the humour, playfulness, virtuosity and reflective stance of the less frenetic fourth and sixth. In the fourth especially, Cooper flashed her gift for glowing lyricism.

Haydn’s Sonata in C Minor presents extreme technical challenge. It’s a labyrinth of layered complexity, daring harmonies and theatricality. Often compared to Beethoven’s Appassionata, this was the first of Haydn’s keyboard offerings earmarked for the new...