Love is in the air for the Hallé

Valentine’s Day concert, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, by Marina Berry

The show promised an evening of romance, and it was a case of full marks to conductor Carl Davis for his choice of music which came from the musicals, opera, ballet and pop.

The world-class orchestra leapt straight into the theme tune from “Gone With The Wind” then onto the heart-stopping Lara’s Theme (Somewhere my Love) from “Dr. Zhivago,” conjuring up images of the handsome Omar Sharif agonisingly torn between two women.

The Debussy favourite “Clair de Lune” came next, and although the programme was predictable in its choice of the big love songs from the past, they are timeless, and it was just what we wanted to hear on the most romantic day of the year.

The Bridgewater Hall was packed for the Valentine’s Day concert, which looked to have by far the biggest audience of this season’s “Pops” concerts.

The Halle is attempting to appeal to a wider audience to boost the numbers it gets through the doors, and the thunderous applause from throughout the venue at the close of Saturday’s show proved it is getting it right.

Call me an old romantic, but the heart-rending theme tune from the harrowing film “Love Story” always sends a chill down my spine, and this beautiful arrangement was no exception.

It was lovely to hear it start with the simplicity of the piano, moving on to the harp, one of my favourite sounds, then the horns and violins before involving the whole orchestra and ending once more with the piano.

Because the music came from well-known and well-loved shows and films, including “Titanic,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Carmen” and “West Side Story” the orchestra painted symphonic stories with their expertise.

The concert, which seemed to come to an end far too soon, ended in a climax with a magnificent performance of Maurice Ravel’s mesmerising “Bolero.”

Well done the Halle for offering a melting pot of love songs to make one of the most enjoyable Valen-tine’s Days for myself and many other members of the audience if the comments I heard as we left the Bridgewater Hall are anything to go by.