Perhaps above all, what characterises much early Beethoven is the striking relationship the composer establishes between the over-arching form of the sonata and its middle, development section.

Traditionally governed by the regulations of a strict musical lexicon, the sonata's development section could be regarded as a rejection of formal boundaries, or, at the very least, could constitute a playful rebuff of the rules. And at one time the terminology for musical form even found a new way of saying "development", employing the phrase "fantasia section", presumably to try to capture some of the form's improvisational character.

This tendency is never more apparent in Beethoven's Sonata in C Major, op 2. Crucially, however, no matter how exciting and "free" the development sections sound in this work, they retain a strong sense of being grounded in a formal framework. And this effect is captured expertly by Alexander Kanchaveli, the young pianist who recently took third prize in the Beethoven Intercollegiate competition in London.

Kanchaveli clearly enjoys the Beethovenian musical palette; it seems to allow him to exploit his expressive tendencies within a tightly controlled environment. Furthermore, his technical proficiency gives him the freedom to play with the extremes of the instrument's dynamic capabilities. Kanchaveli presented a program of minimal fuss and followed the Sonata with Chopin's Ballade no 4 in F minor, op 52.

This piece, though at times wildly indulgent, again allowed Kanchaveli to construct an effective atmosphere of anticipation, and when he finally unleashed the climactic moments, they were, literally, floor-shudderingly good.