I’m going to stop calling Jan Lisiecki a young pianist. I just looked up his birthday, saw that on March 23rd he turns 30. But it’s not about the numbers.

Tonight I heard the first of two concerts from Jan playing all five Beethoven piano concertos while leading the Toronto Symphony from the keyboard. Tonight we heard concerti #1, 2 and 4. Tomorrow night he plays #3 and 5.

He has grown tremendously over the past decade, no wonder a full house showed up mid-week eager to hear him.

Nine years ago I saw Jan play with the TSO on their tour of Florida, Peter Oundjian leading the TSO as it accompanied Jan playing concerto #4. Peter was the leader, the protective elder. Jan was still someone we would call “young”.

And yet the interpretations were mature. I recall one of the performances in particular, when Jan and Peter did not seem to be in agreement. Jan played the opening passage very slowly and thoughtfully. Peter then brought in the orchestra at the same tempo: which was somewhat awkward for a few bars, until he managed to bring them up to speed. It wasn’t the first time I wondered about the future, as the famous interpreter of Chopin explored other music.

Of course the implications of that performance didn’t hit me until today, when I realized what we needed was exactly what we got tonight. Instead of having Jan accompanied by someone else with their own ideas, we had the thrill of hearing Jan as the piano soloist while he also led the orchestra as well. That way we had unity, a coherent interpretation, and really heard what Jan wanted to say. While I know Jan would never say a word against Peter, who was always a kind & supportive friend and mentor, part of maturity is emerging from the shadow of teachers, boldly taking the stage. That’s what we heard.

The concerti are all somewhat different, reflecting the evolution of the composer. Beethoven’s first two concerti sound more like Mozart or Haydn, pieces whose symmetry and balance reflect a witty approach that never oversteps proper decorum, even if the scope and scale begin to hint at what’s to come, the baby beethoven soon to become louder and stronger.

Before intermission we heard those first two. Jan’s readings are clean as ever, his cadenzas especially exciting because for the moment his attention is not divided but fully available for the piano in those magic moments. The orchestral playing is soft and gentle for the most part, restrained except for a few big climaxes.

And sometimes Jan even conducted with one hand while the other was playing.

And after intermission came that remarkable 4th concerto, the ideal piece to show an artist’s growth considering that the work is itself a stunning specimen of creativity. This was an interpretation unafraid of being playful, emotional, soulful, lyrical, bold or introspective. The romantic was unafraid to explore the contrasting possibilities of the piece, varying his tempo and leaning into the faster passages, pushing the orchestra to stay with him. While the fast passages were quicksilver, they were delicate and always clean.

Jan had a busy night, considering that he played and conducted over 90 minutes on the three pieces. He still has the same extraordinary posture, the same stunning technique, now in combination with his conducting. His energy was if anything better when we came to the last movement of the 4th concerto.

Thursday night Jan will play and lead the TSO in the 3rd and 5th piano concerti of Beethoven at Roy Thomson Hall. I’d go if I could, from what I saw and heard tonight. I’m sure it will be brilliant.