The best often start out young. If Mozart were alive today, he would have a substantial back catalogue before he would legally be allowed to drink. Nevertheless James Goodenough’s decision to organise a 50-minute recital on the piano and French horn at the age of 16 is startling. To start it, on top of everything else, with a beast of a Rachmaninov Prelude (in the tonal joy that is C Sharp Minor) could very well be a gamble.
However, James not only holds it together but brings his own take on the Russian maestro. The big hand-straining chords are played with a lightness of touch that soon roars into dizzying vertigo. Throughout the piece there is no danger that it has got out of control until the last haunting notes. It’s certainly worth coming to watch for that opening alone.
The subsequent pieces come in an well-framed pattern. Successfully performing a recital requires musical talent and the right balance of pieces, but this was a well-organised performance. After Rachmaninov we dip into two delightful J.S Bach minuets on the French horn. Soon we drifted into Debussy’s ‘Claire De Lune’, a well-known piece which many struggle to play, but the dreamy tone was well-held. A Chopin fantasie sustained the theme, until Matthew Arnold’s sprightly ‘Buccaneer’ and a short and sweet Beethoven sonata ended this concert which had excelled in all areas.