The Hallé presents… Review by Jonny Greenwood – Everything in its Right Place, Almost | classical music

AIn the sea of ​​black-clad musicians, his baggy white pants inevitably stood out. For an orchestra that has been a staple of the classical mainstream for more than 150 years, the choreography was awkward: lengthy resets between pieces, a second half that almost started before the audience was seated, and a famous guest who fled after barely acknowledging the applause. But despite all that, this collaboration between Haley and Jonny Greenwood – Radiohead’s award-winning guitarist and composer – was musically compelling.

On Steve Reich’s “Pulse,” Greenwood stood behind Haley’s musicians, his body tilted and his chin jutting out nonchalantly, while delivering some of the work’s lively vocals on electric bass. His playing was subtly expressive, his featherweight, and occasional bass excursions away from repeated notes, an elegant release as the Hallé’s wind and string players worked through the melodic lines of Reich’s Copland. Under Hugh Thibaut Brant, the performance was simple and elegant.

Greenwood’s 2014 concert “Water” was clearly more engaging. It emerges from gently shimmering piano and violin, overlaid with thick patches of bass and the shimmering drone of three tanpuras (one of which is played by Greenwood himself). At one point, a large, bright string on the organ cut through the texture, jubilant and luminous, before the solo lines gradually went rogue, spoiling the score. Elsewhere, the strings become an artificial organ – their notes deliciously sharp – playing strings that are annoyingly blurred at the edges.

The world premiere of Greenwood’s Violin Concerto began with a sinister glissando from soloist Daniel Bureau, which was immediately imitated by the Hallé strings, beginning a long game of imitation. There were beautiful moments. The grim memory of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending amid the nightmarish pitch bends was particularly poignant. But despite Pioro’s virtuosity (his stratospheric violin bravado), Halley’s honeyed tone and Thibaut-Brandt’s air traffic control gestures, the piece seemed strangely shapeless.

The program began with Musique Funèbre by Witold Lutosławski. Its desolate percussion, mysterious chromatic creep, and sometimes searing harmonies are a clear predecessor to Greenwood’s sound world – and showcased Haley’s strings as a world-class work in their own right.