Where music is heard at its best
Music Patron composer Alice Beckwith gives us an insight into her favourite live music venues in Manchester.
The Bridgewater Hall
A cool fact is that the Hall floats on giant springs which mute external noise, such as trams passing outside. Worth a visit for this alone!
My favourite place to hear classical music in Manchester is the Bridgewater Hall, which has – in my opinion – one of the best concert hall acoustics in the UK. The Hall programmes all sorts of different types of live music, not just classical, which makes it a superb place to pay a visit whenever you’re in Manchester.
I love singing here with the Hallé Choir, performing alongside the Hallé or the BBC Philharmonic in performances which are often recorded for BBC Radio 3. It’s always fun to spot friends in the crowd. I also produce a lunchtime concert series at the Hall, and love the warm, friendly atmosphere – whether performing, producing, or listening to concerts here.
A bonus cool fact is that the Bridgewater Hall floats on giant springs which mute external noise, such as trams passing outside. Worth a visit for this alone!
Matt and Phred’s
There are a whole host of beautiful churches and concert venues across Manchester, but for me, this list would be incomplete without mentioning Matt and Phred’s. Tucked away in the Northern Quarter, this is a fantastic jazz club which also hosts a monthly jam night amongst an impressive artistic line up.
The club isn’t huge which gives an intimate feel to jazz nights here. People are friendly, the cocktails are great (as is the tea), and it fills right up – especially at the weekend – which I think is testament to how good the music and overall atmosphere is in the club.
I’ve spent many happy evenings here with friends and have discovered a love of gypsy jazz, the joy that is Mr Wilson’s Second Liners (New Orleans meets club classics), and many wonderful singers, trios, and quartets along the way. It's an absolute gem.
Matt and Phred’s was one of my first musical experiences having just moved to Manchester. I’ve spent many happy evenings here with friends and have discovered a love of gypsy jazz, the joy that is Mr Wilson’s Second Liners (New Orleans meets club classics), and many wonderful singers, trios, and quartets along the way. It’s an absolute gem.
Hallé St Peters
Tea dances, supper clubs, music exams, and a chamber music series all take place in this versatile space which, for me, captures the portfolio nature of many musicians’ careers.
Hallé St Peters is a beautifully converted church which is now a recording, rehearsal, education and performance venue for the Hallé Orchestra. Tea dances, supper clubs, music exams, and a chamber music series all take place in this versatile space which, for me, captures the portfolio nature of many musicians’ careers.
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage was commissioned to write the event horizon for the opening of Hallé St Peters. Set at the entrance to the auditorium, the true ‘event horizon’ if you like, Armitage’s poem is presented as a letter-cut steel plate. This took on greater personal significance when I was commissioned by the &Piano Festival to write Five Armitage Songs earlier this year, the opening song of which is a setting of the event horizon.
Listen: Alice Beckwith | the event horizon
Set on Cutting Room Square, neighbouring streets include Loom Street, Cotton Street, Jersey Street, and Hood Street. I love how the surrounding mill buildings have been redeveloped in Ancoats. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon, especially followed by coffee and carrot cake at Cafe Cotton…
And further afield?
Bradford Theatres: The Studio, Alhambra Theatre, St George’s Hall
Looking back, there is no doubt that my experiences as a young audience member ignited the spark for composition.
My first memories of live music belong totally to Bradford Theatres’ wonderful performance spaces: The Studio, Alhambra Theatre, and St George’s Hall – the latter from which the finals of this year’s Leeds International Piano Competition were broadcast.
Every week my mum would take my sister and I to see lunchtime concerts at The Studio theatre. I still fondly remember the moment a tuba player extracted a newspaper from the bell! We would also see various musical and dance theatre performances here, although the real treat was always a trip to the ballet at the Alhambra.
The first full-length ballet I saw was a Birmingham Royal Ballet production of La Fille mal gardée at the Alhambra Theatre at the tender age of three. The clog dance and the chickens still make me giggle now. Thanks to BRB we saw many performances including The Two Pigeons, Elite Syncopations, Coppelia, Still Life at the Penguin Cafe (a personal favourite), and The Sleeping Beauty – all with a stunning live orchestra bringing the score to life. Back then binoculars cost 40p to hire: you would feed 2x 20p pieces into the slot and voilà!
Last but most certainly not least: St George’s Hall, with its beautiful red velvet seats and a superb acoustic, was the place to be for the international concert season. Once a month we would go to see a world-class international symphony orchestra; the performance often followed by chamber music in the bar afterwards. Memorable performances include the first time I heard the Four Seasons played live (Jennifer Pike), both the Sibelius and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos, and Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony conducted by Edward Gardner.
Looking back, there is no doubt that my experiences as a young audience member ignited the spark for composition. Having been thoroughly immersed in music-making from a very young age I suspect orchestral ballet scores in particular have a lot to answer for…!
