An offer you can't refuse

The godfather of the Wigmore Hall is staging a glittering Gala on the eve of his retirement

"The Wigmore Hall exerts magic," declares its director, William Lyne. The quiet Australian, who retires on Saturday after 37 years of looking after its affairs, should know. He forms part of an apostolic succession of managers, only the second since 1932. When Lyne took over in 1966 he did practically everything himself – balancing the books, paying the wages and, most importantly, filling the concert slots. And gradually – working his own special magic – he turned the fortunes of the hall around.

On Saturday, a parade of classical music stars join forces to pay tribute to Lyne in chamber music, song and contributions from a selection of top pianists. Under his inspired management, Wigmore Hall has attracted an enviable reputation, due in no small part to the fact that William, as he is always respecfully known, has talent-spotted and nurtured young artists, while caring no less for the audience. If, as Cleo Laine puts it, the hall is "the godmother of music", Lyne has been the godfather.

The contents of this Director's Festival Gala Concert are a closely guarded secret, yet the very mention of more than two dozen artists' names have been enough to ensure that the Hall's 600 or so seats have sold out. Among a glittering list of singers taking part, Ian Bostridge has particular reason to be grateful to Lyne. After some discouraging experiences, he received a letter from Lyne more or less promising the young tenor a concert "whenever the time was right". It was, admits Bostridge, "one of the handful of reasons I became a singer."

András Schiff, also, wouldn't miss it. Lyne first booked back him in 1975 when, after (perhaps unwisely) playing Bach, Schiff had come a mere third at the Leeds Piano Competition. His music-making has "wound like a thread," says Lyne, through every season since. "He stands for everything I like to think Wigmore Hall is about. No circus tricks, just making music and communicating with our audiences."

It's unlikely anyone will have composed a work for this occasion – championing new music has been a blind spot among the director's enthusiasms – but Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music is an obvious piece to give 16 singers their head. Since Schubert has long been one of Lyne's least private passions, two of the pianists billed to appear will surely pair up in Schubert's best-known keyboard duet, the F minor Fantasie.

Wigmore Hall will be celebrating in a big way with this five-hour event, which marks the end of an era. Let's hope that William Macquarie Lyne's distinguished contribution to music is recognised soon with the knighthood that has so far eluded him, and that he continues to grace many more of the Wigmore's concerts with his unassuming presence and lightly worn wisdom.

Wigmore Hall, Wigmore Street, London W1 (020-7935 2141; www.wigmore-hall.org.uk) returns only for Sat's 5pm Gala; concert season continues to 19 Jul