Skilled organist plies Wurlitzer to great movie-house effect
NORTH TONAWANDA — The Riviera Theatre is a gorgeously restored pre-Depression-era movie house with an impressive, locally made Wurlitzer organ capable of making a variety of sounds come alive. It was here that Cameron Carpenter, a classical organist with technique and showmanship in abundance, played at a well-attended benefit concert for AIDS Community Services and, not coincidentally, displayed his skills on the Wurlitzer.
Early on during the program, Carpenter reminisced about his initial introduction to theater organs when, as a 7- year-old boy, he played the Shea’s Buffalo Theatre Wurlitzer and said how happy he was to come back to Western New York and perform on another worthy instrument.
But the Riviera Wurlitzer, with its three keyboards, multitude of switches and big, powerful sound, was not the only organ at Carpenter’s disposal. There was also a two manual digital computer on stage, and he alternated between playing both instruments, showcasing their varied possibilities.
Classical organists don’t get to take their instruments home with them to practice, a fact that Carpenter pointed out at his recital Sunday afternoon. He noted that “every single pipe organ is different” and talked about how traveling organ soloists need time with each instrument to search out its quirks prior to concert time.
That the organist spent his prep time well was evidenced by the impressive sounds he was able to bring from both organs. Most of the traditional classical music arrangements, including works by Shostakovich (“Festive Overture”), Bach (some preludes from “The Well Tempered Clavier”) and Jeanne Demessieux (the Etude in C sharp minor, Op. 5, No. 6), were played on the newer instrument. Carpenter gave the premiere of his own “Three Intermezzi for Cinema Organ” and a vivid performance of Liszt’s “Funerailles” on the Wurlitzer.
Carpenter’s “Intermezzi” were powerful showpieces for the organ and utilized the instrument’s unique battery of sounds with great effect, especially in the second of the trio where hints of bells and percussion were wrapped by a lush, ever-shifting chordal blanket and with the final intermezzo’s great washes of sound bracketing surprisingly delicate and sensitive interludes.
The rarely heard Demessieux piece is the kind of vibrant, 20th century sonic speed rush that modern organ aficionados love. Carpenter’s incredible ability to handle the flurry of notes was truly impressive. A set of improvisations based on George Gershwin melodies on the Wurlitzer closed out the program, but a well-deserved standing ovation brought the organist back on stage for a show-stopping rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Concert Review
Cameron Carpenter
Organ recital Sunday afternoon in the Riviera Theatre, North Tonawanda.
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