Organ loner flouts convention

by Jasper ReesMonday, 10 May 2010

Performing on the organ is, if you will, a lofty pursuit. Its repertoire calls for devotional focus. And then there’s this bloke.

CarpenterCameron Cameron Carpenter (pictured), who is not yet 30, is unlike other organists. He designs his own clothes, for example, including the flamboyant stack heels that skitter across the pedals. He wears eyeliner. He expands the repertoire as far and wide as transcriptions of Chopin, Mahler and movie music. No wonder his debut release was called Revolutionary. And, in a notable departure from other classical musicians trained at the Juilliard in New York, he does rockstar things like not announce what he’ll be playing in concerts.

So anyone turning up to Bridgewater Hall later this month, where Carpenter will make his debut on the venue’s £1 million Marcussen organ, will just have to wait and see. With a forthcoming CD entitled Cameron Live! featuring the work of Bach, Toccata is a reasonable bet. Audiences love the showmanship. The snittier critics deplore it. Which corner will his Manchester audience be in?

Cameron Carpenter performs at Bridgewater Hall on Friday 21 May.
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Watch Cameron Carpenter perform Chopin

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