Page 504 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

If that was the strategy then it worked well. Pioro is, just as I recall from his Wigmore Hall
appearance years back, a phenomenal communicator. There is a knowing and self-assured
theatricality to his stagecraft – the walking on as himself, picking up the violin waiting for
him on the stage, and the caressing of the page after he’s turned it – that establishes a vibe.

His tone is warm and sonorous, and his physical movement considered, intentional and
uninterrupted. He creates scenes and characters that not only make heads turn, but also make
sense in an overarching narrative. There is elegance, grace and realness in his performance
that holds my attention and brings me back for more. He acknowledges the applause initially
but turns his back on it when it continues unabated. That act in itself creates a tension that
holds attention. His ability to create and hold silence is noteworthy too. In short, this is the
stuff that gets bums on seats (and off them).

Throughout his opening recital, Pioro voiced the tumult of Brahms music without making it
heavy weather, drawing on a combination of technical mastery, sincere musical expression
and a devilishly subversive sense of theatre. I’ve not heard the first Violin Sonata make quite
so much sense as in his performance: authenticity, so much to celebrate, and the explosion of
joy towards the end of the first movement ecstatic.

He seems like an irritated character in print, yet in performance, he transports me to an
entirely different territory. That is quite some achievement.