His hands hovering high above the keyboard rather like a hawk selecting its prey, pianist Olli Mustonen holds you in a state of suspense before he begins each movement of each piece. In this recital his hands were aloft quite frequently, for he had selected a programme of impressionistic works, each divided into several movements, and each painting a series of different pictures.

First came Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, a comparative rarity divided into 12 individually descriptive movements, one for each month of the year. Thus January depicts a snug fireside, with the bass line suggesting gently flickering flames, while February moves outdoors for a pre-Lent carnival, its tempo suggesting that the revellers have been spiced up with good shots of vodka. Mustonen’s bright tone and sensitivity to dynamics meant that The Seasons, designed for performance at home, expanded clearly into the large, lively St Mary’s acoustic, although some passages did end up sounding a bit too steely and analytical.

Anticipation mounted afresh as Mustonen’s hands hovered ahead of the next piece, for it was his own composition Jehkin Iivana. Originally written for guitar, the piece was inspired by Finnish musician Iivana Shemeikka, whose playing of the zither-like kantele was reputed to invoke mythical powers. Sounding slightly like Bartok or Stravinsky to begin with, the mystical powers conveyed you through hair-raising journeys via great sweepings of notes up and down the keyboard: at any moment, you felt, this is all going to spiral deliciously out of control.

Finally, Scriabin’s 12 Études, each linked to a different tempo. These compact, straight-to-the-point, colourful movements, really suited Mustonen’s style, and brought the concert to a scintillating conclusion.

For details of the remaining events in this year’s Piano Festival, phone 020 8450 1060, or go to www.oxfordphil.com