The fall season is here, and on Sept. 7, I took in one of the first offerings of the classical music season. American pianist Claire Huangci stepped in on about a week’s notice to perform a recital for Matinée Musicale of virtuoso piano transcriptions by Czerny, Ravel, Earl Wild and Gershwin, and rarely heard pieces by Khachaturian and Florence Price in Memorial Hall.

Although her program seemed to be mostly all that glittered, it was a treat to hear some rarely heard works, such as Price’s Fantasie Negre No. 2 in G Minor, and familiar works in less-played arrangements — such as Rhapsody in Blue for piano solo only. And best of all, she spoke about each piece from the stage, which earned points from the audience.

She told listeners that Cincinnati has a special meaning to her, because in 1999 she participated in the (now defunct) World Piano Competition here. Since performing for Matinée twice before, in 2015 and 2017, she has developed a very busy international career. She is the winner of numerous competitions, and her technical prowess was on display in this program.

The pianist opened with Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. I enjoyed her singing tone and wonderful way of conjuring atmosphere. Czerny’s Fantasie Brillante sur “Le Nozze di Figaro” was an enchanting journey on tunes from the opera through brilliant technical feats. She summoned orchestral sonorities in Khachaturian’s Adagio of Spartacus, a score heard in movies. And Ravel’s “La Valse” (in the composer’s piano solo version) was a mesmerizing tour de force, with impeccable voicing amidst cascades of filigree, performed with arms and hair flying.

The second half of this substantial program similarly involved spectacular feats, starting with Florence Price’s Fantasie Negre No. 2 in G Minor (she wrote 4 of them). There were four Virtuoso Etudes on some of Gershwin’s most irresistible tunes, including “I’ve Got Rhythm,” arranged by Earl Wild. Huangci finished with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, playing both the piano and orchestra parts. She took it at an extremely fast tempo, and I wondered how she had any energy left at all after what seemed to be an endurance test of a concert.

Sometime, I’d like to hear this pianist play Beethoven again. For an encore, she treated with a charming tune from the film “Amélie,” released in 2001.

Coming up, Matinée presents Cincinnati native Megan Moore, a lyric coloratura mezzo-soprano, in a wide-ranging program that you can see here. The collaborative pianist is Francesco Barfoed. It’s at 3 p.m. Oct. 12 in Memorial Hall. Ticket info: matineemusicalecincinnati.org/recitals