As the first fingers of autumn gradually felt their frigid way through the Garioch on this late September evening, it was only right that light and warmth should be generated by the second concert of the Inverurie Music season, and what a concert it was! Definitely something to banish any thoughts of short days and cold weather and to hint to the potential of an Indian summer. However sad the passing of summer might be, it does herald autumn’s gaudy finery with Bonfire Night being one of the season’s highlights – and fireworks were indeed on offer at the Inverurie Town Hall thanks to an amazing recital from celebrated pianist Jonathan Mamora.

A performer of international reputation, already well known to local audiences through winning the Scottish International Piano Competition in 2023 and performances of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 3 with the RSNO earlier this year, it was a great delight to welcome a musician of such calibre to Inverurie and to hear the Town Hall piano played with such gusto and precision. The concert began with Schumann’s beguiling and whimsical Arabesque, Op 18, music full of false starts and changes of direction that ends with a slowly dissolving meditation. Mamora took all these wanderings in his stride, seamlessly knitting together all of Schumann’s different fabrics with ease and poise. It was an extremely stylish way to begin. This was followed by a thoughtful introduction of the next piece by the pianist, someone who is obviously as comfortable talking about music as he is playing it. He had an instant relationship with the audience and the warmth generated by these interactions seeped into every crevice of the venerable building. The Schumann was followed by an exquisite Bach Toccata, not the F sharp minor as advertised, but the more filigree and optimistic D major with its compendium of Baroque traits and characteristics all perfectly realised by the pianist.

These more effervescent aperitives of the Austro-German repertoire were followed by music of a very different cast, much more questioning and intense and requiring profound concentration and impeccable technique from tonight’s performer. Again, Mamora’s skill at explaining the music to the audience was on show as Messiaen’s deeply personal and idiosyncratic ‘Le Baiser de l’enfant-Jésus’ from Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus was presented to the Inverurie audience. This is challenging music that begins with hypnotic repeated phrases but blooms into a kaleidoscopic exploration of every facet of the piano. Not only did Mamora cope with these technical challenges with aplomb, but he was a stirring advocate for an extremely difficult composition. He followed the Messiaen with an even more virtuosic feat of pianism, Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No 5, a piece that asks fundamental questions of the world, creativity and everything in between. It is also fiendishly difficult. A little like the Schumann, Mamora navigated the tempestuous, ever-changing waters of Scriabin’s single-movement masterpiece with dedication and verve – it was the highlight of the recital.

The second half of the concert was dedicated to one work, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, a staple of the repertoire but a piece not without its challenges and awkward corners. In another insightful introduction, Mamora explained the genesis of the piece and how the audience tonight would be treated to the earlier, longer version of the sonata, free from the pruning the composer did in later life. The pianist was obviously entirely at home with this repertoire and gave a thrilling and emotive performance of this poignantly melancholy late-romantic music. The audience responded in kind with much cheering and stomping, so it was no surprise to see Mamora return for a brief, but beautiful encore of Liszt’s transcription and elaboration of Schumann’s most heartfelt love song, Widmung. This is a favourite encore piece with many pianists, and it is not hard to see why with its softly mellifluous lines gently floating into the early autumn air. It was a spinetingling end to a truly memorable concert.

PAC