Harpsicord up front with fortepiano behind
Janie was not the only member of the audience who was perplexed from the outset by the stage configuration for this concert.
To be fair, the central conceit of the whole thing was the Emmanuel Bach double concerto for harpsicord and fortepiano, so I suppose we might have expected to see two big instruments on the Wigmore Hall’s small stage.
What was not so clear on booking, or even from my pre show photographs, is that the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, bless them, were entirely obscured from the audience’s view, apart from, to use Janie’s precise words:
…the performers’ crotches and their feet.
Looking at people’s feet is a bit of a busman’s holiday for Janie, of course.
Janie has a bit of a thing about the Wigmore Hall, with its lack of tiering, such that we basically land “front row mafia” seats by dint of our supporter level membership or we don’t go. Thus, not being able to see much, despite being with the front row mafia, did not go down well.
A shame, really, because the music was lovely. And we did have a very good view of the keyboard fellas – Mahan Esfahani & Aapo Häkkinen.
We’d seen Mahan Estahani before, several times. The first time we saw him, he was not much more than a boy:
It wasn’t the first time we’d seen Aapo Häkkinen and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra either…
…although we saw a lot more of the orchestra in 2018 than we saw in 2026, for reasons already explained.
Returning to 2026, we exclusively heard symphonies and concertos by CPE Bach:
- Symphony in F Wq. 175 (1755)
- Concerto in E minor for harpsichord Wq. 15 (1745-7)
- Symphony in E minor Wq. 178 (1756)
- Symphony in A Wq. 182/4 (1773)
- Concerto in E flat for harpsichord and fortepiano Wq. 47 (1788)
The programme notes do a wonderful job of explaining CPE’s musical (and patronisation) journey from his earlier Berlin years to his later Hamburg years. That explanation also sets out the symbolism of the double concerto, which I did think was especially lovely.
Not only do the two instruments demonstrate a great contrast between the older plucked harpsicord and the “modern” hammering of the fortepiano, but Mahan Esfahani & Aapo Häkkinen demonstrate contrasting styles of play – the former flamboyant, the latter tense and precise. They also greet and take their bows in the most contrasting manner – Esfahani warm and emotional, Häkkinen quintessentially Finnish in his restraint.
All so intriguing, but Janie remained adamant that blocking the view of the whole stage rather diminished the event for her.
Of course, on a larger stage that work can be performed without so obscuring the other artistes. Here are some other folk performing the first movement on a large stage:
…and here is a birds-eye view of yet another orchestra – this time performing the whole piece:
And Janie did admit that an evening at the Wigmore Hall is always a stress reliever, even if the concert isn’t quite to her taste.