‘According to his friends Schubert did not care to dance,” Gareth Thomas told us in his programme notes for Paul Lewis’s latest, all Schubert, recital. Nonetheless the composer was very happy to knock out a dance if requested — he wrote more than 400 of them.

Actually, ‘knock out’ is hardly fair: as Lewis revealed in his sparkling performance of Twelve Waltzes (D145), Schubert injected variety and invention into these pieces, even though at times you can tell he was no dancer: seductive melodies often win out over the anchoring beat that’s so reassuring on the ballroom floor.

After Twelve Waltzes came Four Impromptus (D899). Each containing a very well known main theme, these impromptus gave Schubert great scope for melodic and tonal exploration, as Lewis demonstrated with evident delight. Impromptu No 3 in G received perhaps the most moving performance, its wistful, song without words, top line floating beautifully above a gently rippling accompaniment. Earlier, Impromptu No 1 in C began with a cheerful march which subtly transformed into something much more sombre — few pianists can match Lewis’s ability to exploit the full range of tone colours available from a Steinway concert grand.

The second half began with a tiny, long-hidden rarity. Hungarian Melody in B minor was composed in 1824, but wasn’t published until 1928. Reminiscent of Schubert’s Moments Musicaux, its Hungarian folk music texture proved an ideal prelude to the evening’s key work, Sonata No 18 in G. This idiomatic exploration of the piano’s sonorities really plays to Lewis’s strengths and thoughtful approach: every note seemed to have its ideal and logical place as the music progressed through its many moods.

Paul Lewis is playing his Schubert programmes all over the world. How does he keep each performance so fresh? Two further appearances are listed in Music at Oxford’s 2011/12 season, just announced: it’s good news that Oxford remains on his schedule.