IF YONTY Solomon had listened to his parents then the world would have been deprived of one of its finest pianists.

Like all good parents they wanted the young Solomon to study something sensible at university rather than pursue a career in music. Solomon had been something of a late starter in professional music terms and had never planned for a career as a classical pianist.

"I couldn't read music until I was 15," he said. "I was in my last year of school in South Africa when someone recommended I audition for a scholarship at the University of Cape Town.

"It was an extremely valuable scholarship and included two-and-a-half years studying in England."

Despite winning the scholarship, much to his own amazement, he heeded his parents' warning and in a concession studied music and psychology.

But his musical ability exploded and his talent took him all over the world including a prestigious debut at London's Wigmore Hall, and now it is bringing him back to Worcester's Huntingdon Hall.

Solomon will be appearing with the Bochmann Quartet, widely regarded as one of the nation's finest, performing Mozart's Piano Quartet in G Minor and Dvorak's Piano Quintet No2 in A Major.

It is a programme the pianist can barely contain his excitement about.

"It is very rare to have the Mozart and Dvorak quartets together but for me this is total bliss," he said.

"They are the greatest chamber music pieces ever written for piano and strings.

"The Dvorak has got to be the greatest work in Slovakian history. It is almost like an encyclopedia of Slovakian melody with its folk music, singing and dancing. It's just perfect and there isn't a single note I would change in it."

His enthusiasm for the haunting Mozart piece is equally passionate.

"I find it extremely healing to play Mozart," said Solomon.

"There was a study done into the therapeutic power of music and it was found that the upper frequencies of Mozart in particular were healing.

"It is transparent and simplistic, but we are talking about one of the greatest works written for piano and strings."

His praise also extended to the Bochmann Quartet, with whom he has performed in the past and is eager to play with again in Worcester.

The quartet was originally founded in 1977, making over 50 BBC broadcasts.

After it was reformed in 1990 it had immediate success with new CDs and in 1994 gave the first ever public performance at the British Museum.

"Sometimes when you have a quartet and piano there can be a distance between the two, like soloists playing together," he said.

"Playing chamber music gives all the performers the chance to include their own interpretations, which you can't have in the same way with an orchestra in a concert hall.

Yonty Solomon and the Bochmann Quartet includes a pre-concert talk at 7.15pm on Saturday, April 26, with the performance at 8pm.

Tickets are £15, concessions £12, from the box office on 01905 611427.

By David Lewins.