THERE’S a special sense of anticipation ahead of the second concert in the new Music in Peebles season.

While every concert brings its own excitement, that on Thursday, November 6 has the pulses racing as it marks the long-awaited Peebles debut by Martin Roscoe, one of the UK’s most celebrated and most in-demand pianists.

Add to that a programme that includes one of the greatest of all piano sonatas alongside works recently recorded by Martin to great acclaim, and the stage is set for a memorable evening.

In a career spanning over four decades, Roscoe has given performances world-wide and has made more than 500 broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. He has accumulated a repertoire of over 100 concertos and is equally at home in chamber and solo recitals where he is famed for his thoughtful approach to the music and his easy rapport with audiences.

His recordings attract the highest praise including, in relation to a recent disc of Beethoven sonatas, 'one of the truly great recordings’ and 'perfect musical judgement and a formidable technique’.

The concert opens with a wonderful example of Haydn at his most concentrated – joyous and playful in the outer movements, solemn in the central slow movement, and all in about 10 minutes! Roscoe will then play music by two composers, Beethoven and Dohnányi, whose complete piano works he is currently recording, to universally rapturous reviews.

The first of Beethoven’s Opus 10 set of sonatas looks forward to the great 5th symphony as well as back to Mozart.

Hungarian composer Dohnányi, himself one of the finest pianists of his generation, is represented by a number of short pieces to give a flavour of this characterful, and often neglected, music, including 'Pastorale’, based on a Hungarian Christmas carol.

To close, Roscoe will bring his unique insight to bear on Schubert’s final piano sonata, that in B flat (D.960), written when the composer had only two months of his short life left, and containing some of the most poignant, sublime music ever written for piano. This is sure to be a performance to treasure and will crown a concert that is certain to live on in the memory long after the final note has faded.

As with all Music in Peebles concerts, everyone is welcome. Tickets are available at £14 (£7 if accompanying a child under 12) from the Eastgate Theatre box office (01721 725777) or online at www.eastgatearts.com. Entry is free for all school students and Music in Peebles members.

Membership is still open at just £60 (reduced to only £46 if you bought a ticket for either of the first two concerts). It offers the best-value way to enjoy all the remaining concerts in the season.

For further details about the concerts or membership, you can pick up a leaflet and application form (from the Eastgate Theatre and other selected locations) or visit the Music in Peebles website at www.musicinpeebles.org.uk.