Arts preview: Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin plays Schubert and Scriabin

Forty years ago, a youngster in Moscow sat at a piano and started to improvise. Unremarkable maybe, except that the young Russian was only two years old; four years later, he was absorbed into Moscow's centre for gifted musicians, the Gnessin State School of Music.

That wunderkind was Evgeny Kissin, who went on to take the piano world by storm. He'll be appearing here for a recital in the Cultural Centre's Concert Hall. Get a ticket if you can.

His programme features works by just two composers: Schubert and Scriabin. The pieces require intellectual depth and faultless technique, two qualities for which Kissin has long been internationally acknowledged.

Schubert died in 1828, having always been overshadowed by Beethoven. The latter continued to cast a long shadow after his death in 1827, not least with his monumental piano sonatas, which contributed to the neglect of Schubert's piano works in the 19th century.

While Schubert's output of songs was prodigious and quickly acclaimed, his catalogue of keyboard music seemed to hiccup, and many efforts were left incomplete.