Classical review: Joanna MacGregor, City of Edinburgh Music School

SHE has played with some of the world’s finest orchestras, formed her own record label, and been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

But if her far-flung Scottish tour is anything to go by, Joanna MacGregor couldn’t be more grounded. Driving in her own car from venue to venue, the 52-year-old pianist has covered hundreds of miles by day, before prising her fingers from the steering wheel and onto the keys.

Having workshopped with pupils, MacGregor sat down at the gleaming Steiner grand and showed them, and us, how it’s done. Performing in such an intimate space has its pros and cons: creating an atmosphere under school striplighting is nigh-on impossible, but getting close to such dexterity and speed is also a rare privilege.

Other venues on the tour have been treated to the Goldberg Variations, but in Edinburgh MacGregor took a “night off” from Bach’s notoriously tricky work – a laughable concept, given the difficult pieces she chose to play instead.

Despite her remarkable skill, even MacGregor confessed to being worried about the final Gigue from Bach’s French Suite. Not that we noticed. Her hands travelled across the keys as naturally as her lungs drew breath. Even Barber’s hugely challenging Excursions, where each hand plays in a different rhythm, looked effortless (“It’s awful,” said MacGregor beforehand, “for me, not you.”)

Maybe so, but she clearly loves what she does. Never more so than during her own arrangement of four Piazzolla tangos, filled with pathos, passion and drama.

Rating: ****