DARLINGTON Piano Society marked the mid-point of its 2015-16 season with a welcome return of the piano duo Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow who never fail to astonish with their performance and fascinating repertoire.

The recital opened with a witty and stylish performance of an early Mozart sonata written for four hands on one piano, possibly performed by the composer and his sister during their European grand tours.

This led to the recital's curiosity, a suite of short dance movements by the Hungarian Matyas Seiber. Sounding like an episode of Strictly Come Dancing, it treated the audience to foxtrot, rumba, tango and other Latin dances, none longer than 30 seconds and all rendered with immense zest and panache.

The first half ended with another rarity, the little-known set of Six Pieces by Rachmaninov. In darker vein, they date from the same period as Rachmaninov's signature Prelude in C sharp minor and have many of the same brooding characteristics.

Better known was Schubert's monumental Fantasy in F minor dedicated to his unrequited love and pupil, Carolina Esterhazy. Goldstone explained the background to their relationship encapsulated in the work's motto theme using their entwined initials F and C. The moving performance varied between the intense yearning and outbursts of anger of the love-lorn Schubert.

Technically assured and playing with an outstanding unanimity of musicianship yielded by their 30-year partnership, the pair brought the house down with the torrent of notes unleashed by Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol. Well known in its orchestral version, this tour de force lost none of its excitement as a piano duet. In fact, they brought new life to what has become a rather jaded concert lollipop.

The afternoon galloped to a close with a Galop, familiar from New Year's Day concerts and as spectacular in Darlington's refurbished Central Hall as in the glamorous Musikverein in Vienna. Piano society treats to come include Schubert's Sonata D690 (January 24) and Beethoven's monumental Diabelli Variations (February 21).

Richard Bloodworth