Gig review - Hallé Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 3 June 2021

This a re-post of an old review I did in brief Twitter thread form. It was the first live concert that the Hallé Orchestra had done in front of a live audience for about 15 months, and the first time I'd listened to live music indoors for about the same length of time. A genuinely moving experience.

Programme:

Glinka -  Ruslan and Ludmilla overture

Stravinsky - Petrushka

Elgar - Enigma Variations

The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester: an expanded stage and a very spread-out Hallé Orchestra.

Though I don't believe in souls... this was good for the soul 😁

My top bits:

  • Double basses in "left wing" position meant I won my gamble to sit in the opposite gallery: perfect view of some insanely difficult playing!
  • First full-orchestra section in Petrushka: invigoratingly loud and a giant leap away from 2 earbuds.
  • Relief that the percussionist wriggling on the floor wasn't having a medical emergency, he was just getting ready to play the tambourine (can't drop it during a quiet bit if it's already on the floor I guess?!)
  • Remembering there's an optional organ part in the finale of Enigma Variations and waiting expectantly for Darius Battiwalla to play it.
  • Nimrod. I'll never take listening to live music for granted again, however well-known the piece. I quite fancy a world in which Enigma Variations can be described as "overplayed", now we've had over a year of it not being played at all.
  • Final cadence, all-stops-out organ, orchestra banging, blowing and scraping like mad. Standing ovation. Relief. The Hallé is back.

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