A ‘wine flight’ experience alongside a Schubert’s final piano sonata might be mistaken for a fashionable gimmick. But in the hands of Kristian Chong, this rendition of the Piano Sonata in D-flat major D690 is exquisite on its own, so the format simply adds extra layers of interest. It is not often that wine sampling happens in such an unhurried way, each taster alone with their thoughts, curious as to how the wine choice complements the music (or is it the other way around?).

The accompanying four wines are selected by Chong from his favourite makers, one to be sampled during each movement of the work and laid out awaiting audience seated at four long tables perpendicular to the Gandel Hall stage. The concert title is slightly misleading, as only one of the wines is a syrah (shiraz), but at least it is a blockbuster.

Schubert & Syrah. Kristian Chong (piano). Photo © Peter Hislop.

Written in 1828 as the 31-year-old Franz Schubert was dying, the sonata is full of pathos, fear, moments of light and darkness, and yearning for lost futures. Chong strikes a...