Kristian Lindberg made a triumphant return to the professional concert scene after his traumatic encounter with a jellyfish – a Portuguese Man of War – less than a year ago.

One hospital recommended amputation of his right arm, another hospital carried out major surgery, saving the arm.

Would he ever play the piano again? Convalescence was aided by Mozart’s Variations on a Minuet by Duport which brought life back to his fingers.

From simple beginnings, this work developed for us into a full-bodied demonstration of mastery of the keyboard with subtlety of phrasing and precision.

Mozart wrote the variations to impress the King of Prussia; Kristian’s rendering certainly impressed us.

Kristian, a compatriot of Grieg, gave us a very well chosen selection of five of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces. Butterfly was taken at speed, but retained delicacy and fragility with smooth runs, swirls and darting angles. Solitary Traveller brought an arresting change of mood to forlornness and melancholy which was quickly shaken off by the bright and lively Brooklet. Quite how Kristian then got the same piano to bathe us in the warm lullaby of At the Cradle was little short of a miracle.

The selection of Rachmaninov Preludes had all the drama one could expect from decibels to delicacy! Kristian also had the restraint to give us superb languid wistful sections and moving crescendos.

A brief bright and cheerful piece was followed by a meditative one whose narrative was compulsively maintained. This Rachmaninov section ended with Prelude No 5 in G minor: so well known, and dazzlingly performed.

Chopin’s 24 Preludes followed. There was an increasing sense of awe and wonder as each Prelude took on its own identity, and one’s personal treasures had to accommodate to this being the definitive perfomance experience. The capacity audience was enthralled and gave Kristian a standing ovation.

He currently lives in Totnes, though his international performances span the major prestigious venues in the USA, Europe and Japan. This NADSA concert was the first in a series jointly sponsored by Austin’s department store. Hopefully, NADSAconcerts will bring Kristian back to Newton Abbot soon.

JRC