We’re nothing if not eclectic here at the ‘old Walrus, so when the folks from the Arensky Chamber Orchestra sent over an invite for Wagner and cocktails at London’s Hospital Club there was only ever going to be one answer.
Sure, my previous exposure to Wagner could be put down to Apocalypse Now and a rather impressive Herbert von Karajan vinyl box set of Der Ring des Nibelungen I inherited from my grandfather, but I was intrigued.
A visit to the Hospital Club is always a pleasure, and I was surprised at the lack of pretence surrounding the event as we found our seats in the venue’s Oak Room – it felt more like the relaxed intimate gigs I’m used to in London rather than what you expect at an auditorium. Most people were sat in rows, yes, but there were sofas around the outside and people were free to wonder in with their beers or cocktails form the bar.
Conductor William Kunhardt gave a lively introduction to the evening, trying to convince the audience that Wagner, the well known anti-Semite, had a softer side that was worth exploration – something the ACO offered in the form of Siegfried Idyll. This was not the Wagner of the Valkeries, but that of the the family man that found joy in his wife and children – something altogether unexpected and surprisingly sweet.
Next, Kunhardt engrossed the audience by narrating the themes of the Götterdämmerung, holding the pages in one hand while conducting with the other and his long curly locks bounced in his animation. We also had cocktails in our hands by the point, which is always welcome.
While Götterdämmerung may have been written for an 80-piece orchestra, the performance lost none of its gravitas with the ACO’s 20 performers taking us from Siegfried and Brünnhilde’s duet in the prologue through to Siegfried’s death and funeral march.
For someone who has not spent a huge amount of time with classical music, I found the whole evening a whole measure more accessible than previous full orchestra experiences with all their pomp and ceremony. The ACO performance was intimate and unassuming, while the music remained dramatic, gliding beauty and bravery.
William Kunhardt and the Arensky Chamber Orchestra will be back at The Hospital Club in the autumn.