Michael Hey
Michael Hey
Walt Disney Concert HallSouth Hope Street, Los Angeles 90012
Michael Hey makes his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut with a solo organ recital built around the hall’s 6,134-pipe instrument. The program moves from Cochereau’s Scherzo Symphonique, in Jeremy Filsell’s transcription, to Hey’s own arrangement of Debussy’s Children’s Corner, alongside Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542. It also includes a new work by Nahre Sol, Jason Roberts’ Variations on an Original Theme, Jonathan Dove’s The Dancing Pipes, and Sowerby’s Pageant. The evening runs approximately 1.5 to 2 hours without an intermission.
A Milwaukee native, Hey is an organist whose 2015 performances placed him before an unusually vast audience: he played during the late Pope Francis’ first and only US visit, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Madison Square Garden, with millions also hearing via livestream. The Straits called his playing “scintillating” and “tremendously virtuosic.” This Los Angeles appearance centers him alone at the organ, with a program that connects Bach and Debussy to contemporary composers and a new piece.
Designed by Frank Gehry, this concert hall is a striking architectural landmark with sweeping stainless steel curves that catch the light outside, while inside, its acoustics are meticulously crafted to deliver rich, clear sound to every seat. The auditorium seats over two thousand people in a space where the audience is fully immersed in the music, surrounded by warm wood paneling and a stage that brings performers close to listeners. The venue hosts ticketed performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other ensembles, offering an evening focused on attentive listening rather than casual socializing. Nearby bars and restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles provide options for pre- or post-show dining, but inside, the experience centers on the music in a refined, elegant setting.