Wigmore Hall opened in May 1901 with God Save the King, followed by performances by Ferruccio Busoni and Eugene Ysaye. A partial recreation of the inaugural evening began a fortnight of celebrations for the hall’s 125th birthday. The national anthem was dispatched from the platform by Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton, and the event felt like a living celebration rather than a historical exercise. The gala format was shorter and tighter, aided by a live broadcast that limited speeches and provided brief historical context. The hall was built by Bechstein in 1901, sold to Debenhams in 1916, and renamed Wigmore Hall in 1917. It continued concerts through World War II, hosted David Bowie in the 1960s, and remains a major London venue for solo recitals, chamber music, and song.
"In May 1901, Wigmore Hall's inaugural concert began, of course, with God Save the King the words sounding novel to an audience who, until a few months earlier, had been singing it for Queen Victoria. The programme continued with a starry lineup including the composer and piano virtuoso Ferruccio Busoni performing Beethoven and the violinist Eugene Ysaye playing unaccompanied Bach."
"A partial recreation of that evening kicked off the hall's fortnight of celebrations of its 125th birthday, and once the national anthem was out of the way - dispatched from the platform by soprano Louise Alder and pianist Joseph Middleton it felt less like a historical exercise than a celebration of what this venue has always been good at. The concert was billed as a gala but was less formal, shorter and tighter than that might have suggested, partly thanks to being broadcast live: no indulgent speeches, just short links from Radio 3's Ian Skelly filling us in on the venue's history."
"The hall was originally built in 1901 by Bechstein, the piano manufacturer, whose showrooms were next door on Wigmore Street, and was intended as a place where audiences could hear the finest pianists of the day showcasing the company's instruments. Anti-German regulations during the first world war meant that the hall was sold to the Debenhams group in 1916, and what had been Bechstein Hall became, in 1917, Wigmore Hall; for a time German song was staunchly performed in English translation."
"Since then that time the venue has proved remarkably resilient, continuing to put on concerts through the bleakest days of the second world war, and occasionally catching the spirit of the 1960s - David Bowie performed here twice in his early career, once wearing a spacesuit - and, so far, riding out the more recent economic challenges facing all UK arts venues. All the while the Wigmore has continued to offer a London home to everyone who is anyone in the world of solo recitals, chamber music and song."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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