The master of improvisation takes on Bernstein’s West Side Story in tonight’s programme, which also includes works by Andrew Ager, Roger-Ducasse and Schmidt.
Wayne Marshall OBE is a conductor and pianist, and – as in tonight’s appearance – a virtuoso organist, known for his eclectic programmes.
His improvisations on old and new works defy expectations, and our Royal Festival Hall’s 7,866-pipe Harrison & Harrison organ is more than up to the task.
Marshall’s spellbinding interpretations on themes from Bernstein’s ever-popular West Side Story closes a typically wide-ranging recital.
Opening the performance, Andrew Ager’s Toccata & Fugue in C, composed in 2009, grows in complexity as it breaks away from convention.
Roger-Ducasse’s rarely performed masterpiece Pastorale is a favourite of Marshall’s – described by him as a ‘huge, romantic, colourful piece’.
And Schmidt’s magnificent Variations & fugue on King’s Fanfares from Fredigundis is another work that has long been championed by the organist.