Callum McLachlan piano

Callum McLachlan plays The Bridgewater Hall on Thursday 27 May, as part of the Manchester Midday Music series. It's a lunchtime recital, so it's one of those things you can fit into a working day rather than having to clear an evening for it. The concert is also part of the hall's Beethoven 200 series, which marks the bicentenary of the composer's death.

McLachlan is a pianist who's spent the last few years making a name for himself on the competition circuit. He was the only British pianist selected for the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and he's taken first prize at both the Welsh and Scottish International Piano Competitions, as well as the RNCM Chopin Prize. He also made the finals of the 18th Schumann Competition Zwickau and reached the semi-finals of the Leeds and Santander International Piano Competitions. Between those, he's performed across the UK, Europe and the USA.

He doesn't just stick to solo work, either. He's an active chamber musician, having collaborated with the Casals Quartet and the Kaleidoscope Ensemble, and he regularly performs with Queen Elisabeth Laureate cellist Jeremias Fliedl. He's been described as having 'a magical sense of colour and extraordinary technical prowess', which is a fair way to sum up the kind of playing he's known for.

The programme for the day brings together three very different composers. He opens with Beethoven's Sonata in A, Op. 101, a late work that's more about introspection and shifting moods than the big, bold statements of his earlier sonatas. Then comes Ravel's Miroirs, a set of pieces that live up to the title — they're all about reflections, light and texture, and they're notoriously tricky to pull off. He closes with Rachmaninoff's Etude Tableaux Op. 9, No. 9, a piece that demands exactly the kind of technical control he's built his reputation on.

It starts at 1.00pm, with the auditorium doors opening at 12.45pm and the whole thing wrapping up by 1.50pm. Tickets are £15.25, with concessions at £13.25 and students at £8.25 — all prices include a £3.25 booking fee.