Sunday Organ Series – City of Melbourne | Ria Angelika Polo

Sunday 1 Jun, 2025, Melbourne Town Hall, VIC

Before TV, before the wireless, the organ was a weapon of mass entertainment. Town Halls across the world boasted instruments with cutting edge technology. The bigger the better, of course. And the Grand Organ of the Melbourne Town Hall certainly took the cake in the late Victorian period. Good news is that it can still pull a crowd.

The first of the Sunday Organ Series from the City of Melbourne starred Ria Angelika Polo, a local organist and musician, and much loved music teacher. The program was designed to please any music lover, be they your favourite aunt, or the junior musicians in your family. There really was something for everyone. 

Opening with Buxtehude’s swirling Prelude and Fugue in G minor (BuxWV149), a dramatic work of the early Baroque which appears to be gaining popularity over Bach’s magnificent D minor (#listenandcompare – it’s worth it!). Throughout the recital Ria created a beautiful soundscape enhanced by sensitive lighting of the beautiful Melbourne Town Hall and organ pipes, which shifted subtly as the program progressed. 

For the classical and romantic aficionados, there was the Organ Sonata No. 1 Op. 27 by Josef Rheinberger with it’s thunderous fugal Finale and chorale-like Andante, and the Etude Symphonique Op. 78 of Marco Enrico Bossi which must have left the soles of Ria’s shoes red hot, from the rapid and fancy footwork. 

In the popular classics category there was Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Edward Elgar’s Nimrod. Each piece received special treatment and show’s off individual stops and sounds of the organ. 

The bells and whistles – almost literally – of the Grand Organ were on display in marvellous arrangement by UK superstar Anna Lapwood of The Bells of Notre Dame from the 1996 Disney animated film composed by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Also in the popular Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and in the absolute gem of an encore, which was the theme from the Harry Potter movies, which included the theme played on chimes (which are part of the Grand Organ). 

These arrangements were not just ‘pretty’ they were technically demanding of the performer and of the instrument. And looking around at the audience, young and older folk were equally enthralled. 

Ria was as gracious after the performance as she was during, with friends and fans lining up for photos and celebratory moments. Reawakening the Grand Hall after too long a break, the City of Melbourne should be congratulated for bringing a world class performance, for free and in the process keeping the organ and its music alive. 

I’m looking forward to the next concert in the Sunday Organ Series already!