Wagner Joins Symphony For Superpops

Walt Wagner, one of the Northwest’s best-loved pianists, returns to the Opera House stage Saturday for a Spokane Symphony SuperPops concert.

It was way back in 1972 that the young Wagner made his first appearance with the Spokane Symphony. He played everything from Ravel to “MacArthur Park,” which earned three standing-O’s that night.

Just two years ago, Wagner returned to dazzle a SuperPops crowd at the Opera House. He showed off his hard-earned chops as a jazz pianist, combining elements of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and even Chopin and Rachmaninoff. He also displayed a knack, developed through years of playing the nightclub circuit, of putting a new spin on pop standards.

Once again, he played “MacArthur Park,” which has become an extended symphonic poem and Wagner’s signature piece. This is a tune that Wagner has been playing since he first started hitting the Spokane club scene back in the late ‘60s.

For this show, we can expect another “MacArthur Park” as well as plenty of his own rollicking compositions, with names like “Chickenlips” and “Humptulips.”

The first half of Saturday’s show will be Wagner-less, featuring the symphony under the direction of associate director Jung-Ho Pak. The program will include Rossini’s Overture to “The Silken Ladder,” Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance, and Gliere’s “Russian Sailors Dance” from “The Red Poppy.”

Wagner and his combo - Clipper Anderson on bass and Mark Ivester on drums - will play the second half.

Wagner is a Seattle native, and he took up classical piano at age 6. He studied classical piano at the University of Washington, but soon hit the club scene, playing first in rock bands and then in jazz bands. He was soon a standing-room-only attraction at Spokane’s Beef ‘n’ Bird (you know you’re a true Spokanite if you remember that place).

He later found a nationwide audience, and he has appeared on the “The Tonight Show,” “Merv Griffin” and a TV special with Andy Williams and Peggy Fleming. He has also hosted his own TV special, “The Walt Wagner Show.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: MUSIC Spokane Symphony and Walt Wagner will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Spokane Opera House. Tickets range from $14 to $28.50, available at the symphony ticket office (624-1200), G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.