The American organist Cameron Carpenter returned to Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 18 to perform works by Bach, Franck and Mussorgsky.
The first half of the evening included the Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 by Bach and two Chorales by Franck, No. 2 in B minor FWV 39 and No. 1 in E Major, FWV 38.
The Bach was atypical Bach but typical Carpenter as he plumbed the depths of the WDCH organ to express Bach in his own unique way while still retaining the essence of the Prelude and Fugue. The WDCH organ has an almost infinite range of sounds and tones, and Carpenter must have felt like a kid in a candy store. It’s always interesting to hear what he does with the organ.
The first half concluded with the two chorales by Franck. Once again, Carpenter played these works for organ in his own unique style, but what stood out was how he utilized the WDCH organ to give the audience a glimpse into what these two organs works would sound like if orchestrated because that’s what the WDCH organ can do—sound like an orchestra. In fact, during the Chorale No. 1, there was the briefest hint of the second movement of Franck’s great D minor symphony.
Carpenter began the second half with the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552 by Bach, but this time he played it mostly more traditionally — perhaps because of what was to follow.
He concluded the second half with his arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Wow! With the WDCH organ, there are so many possible ways one could arrange a piece that begs for an organ interpretation, like Pictures, and Carpenter let out all the stops (pun intended). He produced sounds this reviewer has never heard from the organ, and while it may not have been some admirers of the work’s cup of tea, no one could argue that it wasn’t mesmerizing and enthralling, and it brought the audience to their feet at its conclusion.
But the Cameron Carpenter who played on Sunday night was not the Cameron Carpenter who last visited WDCH in April 2019. That organist was not only younger, but more flashy and almost punk (see our review at https://culturespotla.com/review-cameron-carpenter-plays-bach-at-disney-hall/).
On Sunday night, Carpenter was much more subdued and, indeed, introspective. The flair was gone and replaced by an almost Zen-like air. Dressed in all black, this recital was not about Carpenter as a performer, but rather about the music and the organ. He was serious and withdrawn into the music, even though he still displayed his signature innovations. Even when he bowed, he did so only briefly, clasping his hands together as if in prayer and then quickly exiting the stage.
The crowd, unlike that in 2019, was smaller (no seats were sold behind the organ or in the upper balconies on Orchestra East and West), and despite being huge fans of Carpenter’s, it was also less exuberant until, of course, the end when they brought him out for his only encore, the Festive Overture Op. 96 by Shostakovich (Arr. Cameron Carpenter), which brought the concert to an even more rousing conclusion.
—Henry Schlinger, Culture Spot LA
For information about upcoming concerts, visit www.laphil.com.