Daniel Barenboim, Royal Festival Hall, review: The soloist's new piano is perfect for Schubert
When Daniel Barenboim gives a piano recital, the hall – no matter how big – is always sold out months in advance. This is because people flock to hear him not just for his artistry, but for the history he embodies, as a fearless preacher of tolerance in one of the most intolerant regions of the world. But the devotees cramming even the stage of the Royal Festival Hall were there for an additional reason: he was going to deliver his Schubert sonata cycle on a piano no-one in London had heard before, the so-called Barenboim Steinway.