It was the ideal Sunday afternoon – glorious music by Keila Wakao, winner of the 2021 Menuhin Competition, and Gordon Back, a hugely experienced and accomplished pianist.

Their diverse programme of Bartok, Beethoven, Bloch, Wagner and Szymanowski certainly showed off Keila’s virtuosity, but she had so much more to offer beyond that. Throughout the performance, her incredible musicality was abundantly felt, and it was so natural as if fresh water was emerging from a spring. Her exceptional technical skills were presented in the most musical way, making each piece come alive and express its own message. Keila also had a matured sense of artistic ability to describe from bold passages to subtle nuances with endless colours of sounds.

Bartok’s Rhapsody made the audience sit up with straight spines but somehow brought a nostalgic feeling. With Beethoven’s Spring Sonata, we swayed and swung along with the sweet melody. The deeply engaging and spiritual sound of Bloch’s Nigun made our skin prick, and what a beauty Wagner’s Romance was with such lovely singing tones. Szymanowski’s Nocturne was played with a mysterious, velvety tone, and the fiery Tarantella was fantastically dramatic. Gordon’s expertise blended seamlessly with Keila’s playing and complimented her strengths from multi angles.

Two short and charming encores, Kreisler’s Midnight Bell and Poulenc’s Les chemins de l’amour, left us feeling as if we were sitting in an outdoor café in Paris, completed the ideal Sunday afternoon.

When she was not performing, Keila was a lovely, soft-spoken, and good-natured teenager with a twinkling smile.