English Pianist Stephen Hough Plays Paganini Variations

Thailand Cultural Center. Bangkok, Thailand. June 1, 2013. It is only about once a year, if that, that Thailand gets an internationally renowned soloist of the stature of Stephen Hough (Barry Douglas, Leif Ove Andsnes and Yundi come to mind). So, it was a special event for me to listen to Stephen Hough perform with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, even though I've recently heard him twice in London. His performances of Lutoslawski's Variations on a Theme by Paganini, and Rachmaninov's ever-popular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, were magnificent, and while they could be played differently, they could not be played better. It says something about the state of classical music in

Thailand, that the house was far from full.