OCTOBER sees the start of the music society seasons in the area, but just getting in first is the new series of Master Musicians concerts at Stockton Arc, writes Dave Robson The first of three Tuesday lunchtime concerts is on September 28 with a recital by the young Dutch-born pianist Christopher Devine that includes Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata and works by Schumann and Chopin.

October 19 features the very young Chinese pianist, Yuanfang.

Based in Manchester, he was at 13 the youngest keyboard finalist in this year’s BBC Young Musicians Competition.

He offers an interesting programme of Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt and Debussy, and possibly one of his own compositions as he is also a talented composer.

On November 23, it will be the turn of Natia Beraia, a semi-finalist in the 4th Tiblisi International Piano Competition, whose recital includes pieces by Scarlatti, Schubert, Brahms, Chopin and Stravinsky.

Call the box office on 01642- 525199 or visit arconline.co.uk for details and tickets.

Darlington Piano Society and Darlington Music Society seasons get under way on in October.

The music society is first up on the 9th, when the Brodowski String Quartet, prize winner in international competitions in the UK, Italy and Holland, plays quartets by Haydn, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn.

This is followed by a return visit to Darlington by Nikolai Demidenko on November 14.

He has previously appeared in both the music society and piano society seasons. This time he has chosen works by Chopin and Schumann to mark these composers’ bicentenaries.

The December 11 concert features two Russian musicians: Anna-Liisa Bezrodny, violin, and pianist Alexander Karpeyev. Appearing through the Making Music Award for Young Concert Artists, they will include sonatas by Debussy, Janacek and Prokofiev in their recital.

For tickets, ring the arts centre on 01325-486555; details are availabe from comm uni gate.co.uk/ne/dms October 16 is the start of the Darlington Piano Society season.

There is an evening concert (7.30pm) and, earlier, at 10.30am, a free masterclass for talented local students by the celebrated Cypriot pianist, Marino Tirimo. His evening recital is all-Chopin, covering most periods of the composer’s life, starting with a Polonaise in G minor written when he was just seven, followed by barcarolles, waltzes, mazurkas and the 24 Preludes, op 28.

Then comes the remarkable talents of British pianist Danny Driver on November 20. His wide-ranging programme embraces William Sterndale Bennett and York Bowen, Chopin’s 3rd Piano Sonata and Schumann’s Symphonic Studies.

The December 4 recital by the Spanish pianist Nestor Bayonne-Pifarre, a Making Music Young Artist’s Award winner, will be just as interesting in its spread of composers, from a Bach Prelude and Fugue though music by Cabezon, Halffter and Albeniz from his native Spain, to a short new piece, Tauromaquia, by Holt.

For tickets, call 01325-466555; for information, visit com muni gate.co.uk/ne/darlington piano.

On Saturday, September 25, the acclaimed pianist Catherine Leonard gives her first performance at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, at 7.30pm.

Her programme offers classical and romantic music specially geared to the museum’s piano and its setting.

She will play pieces by composers including Handel, Ravel, Francois Couperin, Jacques Duphly, Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann.

After studying music at King’s College, London, and piano with Aaron Shorr at the Royal Academy of Music, Miss Leonard was accepted on to the advanced performance studies course in association with the RAM after being awarded a first in piano performance.

She has also studied piano with Konrad Richter in Stuttgart and with Alexandra Andrievsky and Peter Feuchtwanger in London.

She has given many recitals throughout the UK.

Tickets cost £12, Friends £10, accompanied under-16s free, from the Friends office, tel 01833-690606 ext 233, or email friends@thebowes museum.org.uk. The cafe will be open until half an hour before the concert begins.