Jayson Gillham has come a long way from his humble beginnings in the Queensland country town of Dalby. Now in his early 30s, Gillham is based in London and has an international career. He arrives in Melbourne having just performed all of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra to great acclaim. This concert developed themes explored in his 2016 debut disc with ABC Classic, Romantic Bach. Rachmaninov’s take on the Prelude from Bach’s Violin Partita No 3 was a perfect curtain-raiser for such an exploration, presenting a well-judged melding of brilliance and clarity with expressive flexibility.

Jayson Gillham. Photograph © Benjamin Ealovega

Bach’s A minor Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 904 was well delineated, and in the spirit of the program, included judicious octave doubling in the bass. The Fantasia was full of energy and the fugue (for all intents and purposes, a double fugue) was clearly laid out, Gillham carefully shaping the first subject with its rising fifth and then rising sixth. A judicious tempo allowed an attractive ebb and flow of musical ideas to emerge.

Egon Petri’s arrangement of Bach’s Schafe...