Seeing Wigmore Hall Live on Apple Classical is a good thing. Simply seeing the name and the logo stirs evocative sensory detail. The right context.  Warm fuzzy feelings evoked. Thoughts of velvet under-butt and underfoot. Crystal clear sound. The finest people. Interesting stuff. Live recordings. 

Less innovation, more reinvigorating a back catalogue of live recordings, themselves evidence of successful contractual agreements between venue and artist. The label stretches back 21 years. Quite the selection of fresh-faced Wigmore Hall regulars. Don’t go changing the album art please, WH.

Given his recent Bergen appearance written about elsewhere on Thoroughly Good, it will be interested to hear what pianist Alexander Gadijev’s forthcoming release for the WH Live label sounds like in Wigmore’s exacting acoustic. 

What does ‘live’ mean in this context? I need actual proof of an audience in the room. That’s the payoff. On streaming platforms, you’re going to cut through with the sound of applause at the end of a performance. I’d like to hear the crowd listening in. Let’s hear them shifting their cheeks, clearing their throats, and turning the A4 page over. 

*Thoroughly Good didn’t receive the press release.