Viv McLean, Stokesley Methodist Church

ON a bitterly cold day with my car thermometer registering a temperature of 3C, it was good to settle into this comfortably warm venue to welcome pianist Viv McLean.

McLean perfected the experience with his choice of composers – two top favourites of classical piano music, Liszt and Chopin, together with a revelatory selection by George Gershwin.

The recital started with Liszt’s Six Consolations (S172). The exquisite Consolation No 3 is widely loved, and McLean performed it with a fine tenderness, capturing the essence of this beautiful piece perfectly.

Liszt was followed by the incomparable Chopin. Nocturne op. 9 No. 2 and Ballade No.3 op.37 were beautifully performed. This is the kind of programme that makes one want to rush out into the street and haul passersby in to listen. I am convinced they would find it absolutely irresistible.

Ballade No. 3 is notoriously difficult, and a performance like this makes one gasp.

A selection of music by Gershwin included Three Preludes, Three Song Transcriptions and Rhapsody in Blue. He played a suitably bluesy rendition of Someone to Watch Over Me, The Man I Love and a jazzy upbeat swinging style for I Got Rhythm. He really captured the soulful essence of Gershwin’s music as well as the superb rhythms.

Rhapsody in Blue brought the programme to a close with a phenomenal performance of this demanding music, full of atmosphere and energy. The very appreciative audience persuaded him to encore with another Chopin nocturne before they would allow him to leave the platform.

The next Classical Cleveland Concert in Stokesley Methodist Church is on Thursday, March 5, featuring virtuoso guitarist Jamie Macrae in a programme of music by Bach, Granados and Henze. Tickets £6 from Brown’s Newsagents, Stokesley, or £7 at the door.

Irene MacDonald.