BACK ON THE FIDDLE - HALLE ET AL

Our visit to the Halle on Wed 18th Oct was I suppose the start of our new season of concerts and operas. The Bridgewater Hall was unusually empty, Mark Elder always looks surprised that anyone has turned up and last night it was almost true, few had save for 7 coach loads from music societies in Cheshire. This was Mark Elders last performance with the Halle this year as he’s off to Berlin for a few months. The programme featured Dvorak The noonday witch, he was a great railway enthusiasts as it happens. This was conducted by the proficient if nervous assistant conductor Rory Macdonald. Then Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No2 with a young Swedish pianist , after the interval came Vaughan Williams Norfolk Rhapsody, worth going for that alone and then Beethoven’s Symphony No2 in D. A nice mix, accurately and pleasantly portrayed although atmosphere lacking due to the empty auditorium. Wasn’t it just a few years ago we were throwing money in buckets to buy the Halle instruments? In Germany the hall would be packed every night, and boast many younger people in the audience.