Gig review - Hallé Orchestra, Anna Lapwood, Corinna Niemeyer, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 30 April 2023
Programme:
Fauré - Pavane
Poulenc - Organ Concerto
-interval-
Dobrinka Tabakova - Orbis Factor: Sanctus
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No.3, ‘Organ’
It's not often I go to classical gigs because of who's performing. Usually I go based on the pieces to be played or sung, and if it's a professional orchestra of any sort, I know it will likely be perfectly adequate at least.
This time I mainly came to hear Anna Lapwood after following her on Twitter for her top-notch organ content. Particularly eye-opening for me is the footage of her closing out a gig by Bonobo in London's Albert Hall, having literally only met the band by accident the day before - I don't think a pipe organ has ever been cheered so loudly by an audience before! So I was really interested to hear her play live, especially with two of my favourite organ works in the same programme, being played on my doorstep in Manchester.
The Hallé opened with Fauré's Pavane, which I had honestly forgotten was on the programme. For me this piece is, yes, overplayed and possibly even over-rated, but I simply do not care. It was tastefully performed, and as ever I adored the pillowy-soft and perfectly co-ordinated plucking from the double basses.
The Poulenc concerto was an excellent choice, and suited the Bridgewater Hall organ very well. While the organ is of incredible quality, I'm afraid to say that for my taste it just hasn't got the quantity. I don't feel it's really loud enough to truly fill the huge hall it's installed in. Having heard some truly gargantuan pipe organs (London's Albert Hall and Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral spring to mind) I'm often a little disappointed by the Bridgewater Hall organ. However, this particular concerto is scored for an orchestra of just strings and timpani, meaning that the balance worked very well, volume-wise. Additionally, the whole concerto is an exercise in variety of tonal colour, and this is where the fine quality of the instrument really shines out and becomes more important than sheer sound pressure levels it can produce.
Dobrinka Tabakova's organ piece was lovely but short, essentially one big crescendo based around one main theme - I mainly just wanted it to last a bit longer! Having never heard any of Tabakova's compositions before, I definitely owe it to myself to find some of hers to listen to.
For the concerto and the solo piece, Anna Lapwood wore a shiny golden jacket, reminding me of a line I've belted out with gusto while singing Mendelssohn's 2nd Symphony "So laßt uns ablegen die Werke der Finsternis, und anlegen die Waffen des Lichts" ("let us cast off the works of darkness and take up the weapons of light"). Symbolically ditching the jacket for the symphony, she assimilated into the orchestra and became the ultimate team player: someone with the potential to obliterate what most of the orchestra was doing, but who chose not to!
This was the second time I've heard the "Organ Symphony" live in the same venue: with a different orchestra but obviously the same organ. This time was by far the better-executed, better-interpreted and more impressive performance. The organ's balance with the orchestra was again excellently judged, jutting out from the orchestra where needed and supporting elsewhere. The 2nd movement was particularly gorgeous, especially the sections where the organ pedal board provided bass support while the strings played a unison melody. The 4th movement is another overplayed-but-I-don't-care moment in classical music, and its execution was very slick. I particularly loved how the brass, trumpets in particular, picked their moments, wielding their power wisely and really blaring out where it had real impact. Whether this was down to Corinna Niemeyer's direction during rehearsal, or the good musicianship of a world-class brass section I can't say, as a mere audience member. But it provided a marvellous ending to one of my favourite pieces.
I sometimes forget how privileged we are in Manchester to have such a great classical music scene - a world-class hall, (at least) 3 top-notch orchestras, and visiting artists from around the country and the world. This concert was a lovely reminder of how lucky we are.
