Until seven years ago, William Lyne could still say he had spent more than half his life running the Wigmore Hall. Now he is 80, and in the enviable position of being able to curate his own birthday concert.
It pulled off a rare feat: it was celebratory and ultimately informal, yet did not descend into cheesiness – not far, anyway. That was partly down to the presence, musical and physical, of the composer William Bolcom, who supplied three lighter numbers at the end, including a new piece for the occasion: From the Jersey Side, to words by Arnold Weinstein. A monologue for a humble Hoboken electrician gazing across the Hudson at Manhattan, it was brought alive by Christine Brewer's excitable delivery and Roger Vignoles's deft touch at the piano.
Baritone Christopher Maltman also showed a talent for lighter music. Bolcom's noirish Black Max was spot on, his performance larger than life but only just, his voice neither too classical nor too Broadway. That followed a French operetta duet that had Felicity Lott making turkey noises while Maltman baaed like a sheep.
Maltman, Lott and tenor John Mark Ainsley shared the first half's Schubert and Schumann and the second half's medley of French song, with Vignoles and Malcolm Martineau alternating characterfully at the piano. Brewer was the soloist in Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, scaling back her soprano to something contained yet still distinctly operatic, gleaming and liquid; this was compelling singing, even if her tuning tended to lie just slightly flat.
The Wagner was a substitute for Strauss's Four Last Songs that went unexplained, though perhaps the Strauss would have overemphasised a certain valedictory theme that seemed to run through the first half. And this was definitely no farewell; Lyne may have retired nearly a decade ago, but he is still supporting rising performers. Opening each half with Fauré, pianist Alastair Beatson offered searching, lyrical playing that will have won him many friends here besides Lyne.
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