REVIEW

THE Milverton Concert Society 2016/17 season is off to a brilliant start. Piano and organ duets is an unusual offering, but the Scott Brothers Duo from Manchester (Tom on piano, Jonathan on organ) blew us away with an evening of musical virtuosity and fun.

In Rossini’s ‘Italian Girl in Algiers’ overture I was amazed at how the two widely separated players kept in sync – stunning. Throughout the evening we heard pieces in varied music styles, some written specifically for this instrumental combination, others arranged by the brothers.

In Pietro Yon’s ‘Concerto Gregoriano’ Jonathan gave played an amazing pedal cadenza; only Fred Astaire could have matched what his feet were doing!

The famous Bach/Gounod ‘Ave Maria’ was followed by Addinsell’s ‘Warsaw Concerto, the organ taking the orchestral role. This was a breathtaking display by Tom (it might be film music, but you need a top-rank concert pianist to play it). Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ overture was a triumph, Tom Scott’s own composition ‘Timepiece’ was ingenious and Mascagni’s famous ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ Intermezzo was beautifully done.

The spectacular 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody of Liszt was given the full works to end the evening. Tom’s pyrotechnical piano playing was stunning and the applause was long and rapturous.

These two unassuming young men gave us an evening of wonderful music played with the highest skill and virtuosity. The ‘Milverton Fridays’ just get better and better.

Harold W. Mead