Lunchtime Recital Michael Broadway (Pianola) and Stephen Jones (Organ)

Programme:

Mendelsohn               Ruy Blas Overture                          arr. A Reinhard

Elgar                          Salut d’Armour op. 12                   arr. A Reinhard

Wagner                     Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg  Overture      arr. A Reinhard

Haydn                      The Heavens are Telling        From The Creation    arr. A. Reinhard

Grainger                    Handel in The Strand

In our advance marketing we pitched this as a possible ‘Clash of Titans’ or a chance for perfect harmony. The reality was much more subtle.

We have enjoyed Michael Broadway’s recitals on his pianola. His artistry is to take something that could be purely mechanical, and through changes of speed and emphasis add emotion and bring it to life. It is nevertheless a co-production of man and machine and in the pianola and organ recital, the machine was still there as the ‘third man in the room’ .

So achieving that harmony required respect for the ‘third man’ and the constraints implied, and it was no mean feat for both of our human artistes. There was also the little matter of balancing the sound levels of piano and organ to achieve the desired harmony. I’m not sure that either Michael or Stephen was truly satisfied with the day’s performance, but certainly for me it was a real pleasure to experience something novel which I felt was well balanced and allowed both instruments to shine. Hopefully this will not be the last time they work together.

You can judge for yourselves.