Pitch darkness. Then a single spotlight on a piano in the middle of the stage. A figure walks on – head down, almost apologetic – and sits. The auditorium is silent. There is a gentle cascade of notes, fingers rippling the length of the keyboard again and again in the harmonic equivalent of rotating a kaleidoscope. The audience seem barely to breathe: hundreds of people all joined in intense, ecstatic concentration, cameraphones held reverentially aloft.
What music inspires such rapturous attention? On this occasion, it is the bearded Ukrainian pianist-composer Lubomyr Melnyk playing what he calls “continuous music”. Lots of arpeggios (yes, the ones you practised for hours if you ever had piano lessons, going up and down the notes that form a chord) and lots of sustaining pedal. There is not a huge amount else on the list of musical ingredients – but the euphoric absorption displayed by all those listeners outstrips just about anything I’ve ever witnessed at more mainstream classical performances.
