City Recital Hall, Angel Place, for Sydney Festival
January 18, 2015

It’s fair to assume that any pianist of note will be intimately acquainted with JS Bach’s The Well Tempered Clavier, but Belgian pianist Alain Franco’s devotion to these seminal works is virtually unrivaled. The 96 preludes and fugues from Bach’s twin volumes spanning the full chromatic spectrum are not only arguably the most important musical achievement of the Baroque period, but also one of the single most accomplished acts in the pantheon of human creativity.

Few people would claim to match Bach’s genius, but Franco’s herculean feat of performing all 96 of these perfectly crafted pieces from memory is an awesome act in itself, akin to reciting the complete works of Shakespeare or Pi to several thousand decimals. With a running time of just over four hours this is not only an impressive display of pianistic virtuosity, but of super-human endurance as well.

Taking the concert platform at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Franco tactically chose to dress casually, in a simple jumper and chinos. Comfort trumps concert dress when you have hours of performance stretching out ahead of you. The stage was bare but for the Steinway and a simple...