Versatility, variety and incredible staying power – this is perhaps the best way to describe Anna Lapwood. The 30-year-old artist, who plays several instruments, sings, leads a choir, creates transcriptions and engages in both teaching and numerous charitable projects, not to mention the successful radio shows she hosts, is taking stock of the various stages of her professional career with a wisdom beyond her years, purposefully keeping her life in order with the assistance of a performance coach, who also helps her keep herself in the physical condition that is essential to manage such a hectic pace. A true star of the classical music world, she released her first solo album, Images, at the age of 26, followed two years later by LUNA, which immediately conquered the classical music popularity and sales charts for 2023. This spring saw the issue of Firedove.

© Nick Rutter

Lapwood brings to Budapest both large-scale pieces and a great deal of film music, for which she will exploit the technical capabilities of Müpa Budapest’s outstanding (in terms of both quality and scale) organ. A special focus will be on works by Hans Zimmer, winner of multiple Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes and other prestigious awards. Hearing his Chevaliers de Sangreal (from the film The Da Vinci Code) proved a pivotal musical experience for Lapwood, and one of the movements of the suite from his score for Interstellar (Cornfield Chase) was her first transcription for organ. “What Hans did for the Pirates movies redefined the sound of the entire genre, it has been very fulfilling to work alongside him,” – says Geoff Zanelli, composer of most of the music for the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Zimmer’s stirring film music will bookend both the Philip Glass piano piece Mad Rush, here adapted for the organ after having also served as the basis for a choreography, and the always fresh Bach/Gounod Ave Maria as a lyrical episode. This will be followed by Hollywood superstar Alan Menken’s famous song The Bells of Notre Dame. Benjamin Britten derived his instrumental Four Sea Interludes, which Lapwood transcribed for organ during the COVID lockdown, from his opera Peter Grimes. Always eager to support her fellow female musicians, Lockwood counts among her favourite pieces Limina Luminis, written for her by Olivia Belli, and she also transcribed Flight, a composition by Rachel Portman, the only woman to ever win an Oscar for film music. Duruflé’s famous Prélude et fugue sur le nom d’Alain, one of the jewels of the organ repertoire, will be performed in its original form.