Under the Dome Lies a Myth
Wigmore Hall celebrates its 110th anniversary with a programme to die for, from early music to contemporary. Known by all lovers of classical music, this London concert hall is probably the most wonderful in the world.
In Paris, the dome of L'Académie Française houses the literary elite. In London, it is reserved for elite musicians. This is not the same kind of dome, though: Wigmore Hall's is a half dome, a cupola, more modest in size, overlooking the scene of a legendary concert hall which just celebrated its 110th years, known, at least by name, by all classical music lovers. This cupola, decorated with a fresco in a style close to the Viennese Secession by Gerald Moira, represents the Spirit of Music contemplating the Genius of Harmony.
For a singer, pianist or string quartet, it is a dream to debut under this cupola, but also a must: Natalie Dessay appears in March, and the Belgian soprano Sophie Karthäuser performs in February of next season. And after the debut comes the dream of return: Daniel Barenboim, who first played at Wigmore Hall in short trousers at the age of fifteen, appeared in an exclusive concert for Britain last week as part of his Schubert tour which had taken him to the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels a few days earlier.
Some artists such as mezzo Joyce Di Donato and pianist András Schiff have made Wigmore Hall their only base in London. Many choose to give their final concert there, as if it were the final reward or their most perfect achievement. And there are many more who couldn't imagine bidding their farewells from another room. So last Sunday, the Irish mezzo-soprano Ann Murray gave her final recital thirty years after she made her debut.
Where does this magic of Wigmore Hall come from? Its Director John Gilhooly has his own ideas on the matter: "It is undoubtedly one of the grandest concert halls in the world, grand not in size – 550 seats, it's not huge nor is it small – but grand in its acoustics, which are ideal for the voice, chamber music or piano. It also has a tradition of performances of extraordinary quality whilst remaining very open to new talent, as well as the quality of its audience of very attentive connaisseurs (we do not cough here!) The artists who make their debut here often tell me that they feel the goodwill of the public float in the room."
Building on this tradition and on its audiences, Gilhooly, a former tenor who also has a degree in Economics and Political Science, has continued to develop and expand the tradition of the Hall. It hosts a record of 400 concerts a year – several per day, with Monday lunchtime recitals broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 – and ticket sales have increased in recent years from 120,000 to 160,000. All this without compromising the artistic vision or preventing the programme from becoming ever bolder: "Despite what people say, classical chamber music is not dying. We must always create great events, we must renew, discover new performers, commission new works, and with this the audiences always return."
Of course the Director has his own taste and preferences, but also knows that programming should be ever broader: "The tradition here at Wigmore Hall is to have an artistic director who totally controls the programming. This consists of a blend of what the public wants to hear and what I think one should hear with what I want to hear myself. Sometimes I invite artists I don't like, but I'd never say who they are! And I especially invite the artists I admire. Any Director who programmes purely to his own taste will fail."
As with elsewhere, the programming is a mix of what the artists offer and what the director wishes for. The repertoire covered ranges from early to the most acute contemporary music, with not only an artist in residence each season – next year it will be the pianist Stephen Hough – but many artists also hosting series of concerts. So next season, in addition to the return of many artists who appear at the Hall regularly (which we are already looking forward to), we see series devoted to Dvořák, Ravel, Liszt and William Byrd, a series of French music by Angela Hewitt and the Nash Ensemble, the complete string quartets of Shostakovich by the American group the Pacifica Quartet (joined by veteran Menahem Pressler for the quintet) and two series devoted to Schubert: three song cycles by Christian Gerhaher in September and, throughout the year, Paul Lewis performs many of Schubert's works for piano. Last week, this English pianist gave one of the first concerts of his exciting journey ahead: an opportunity to hear both a personal and compelling interpretation, but also a fabulous sound (one has the impression of being inside the piano) and to experience the quality of the acoustics in the Hall.
This article, by Nicolas Blanmont, appeared in La Libre Belgique on Thursday 23 June 2011.