Brisbane Festival is always a fascinating mixture of different arts; if you can’t find something that interests you across the dozens of different plays, comedy acts, gigs, and recitals then you probably haven’t looked hard enough. It’s a joy to be able to pick from, for instance, the re-formed Townsville folk-ish band The Middle East, or the jazz wunderkind Jacob Collier, or, in this case, a world-class pianist like Paul Lewis.

Paul LewisPaul Lewis. Photo © Jack Liebeck

In addition to this recital Lewis is also an artist-in-residence for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for 2019, although in practice it seems like that means a concerto and a recital in September, and a concerto in November. For my money, this recital is by far the most interesting of the three – the concerto in November is the Grieg Piano Concerto, which I think I’ve heard just one too many times to be truly excited about.

Over the past couple of years or so, Lewis has been performing a set of four programs based on the trio of Haydn/Brahms/Beethoven, a triumvirate which Lewis argues combines to great effect. I have to say I agree – pitting...