Welcome
Where does music come from? How can we as musicians and music-lovers get closer to the mystery of what makes the composer’s pen move? And are there possible sources of inspiration that audiences in the past would have picked up on – cross-references which we might be less aware of today? These are some of the big questions that we’ll be trying to answer this season in a special series of concerts, ‘Composer Roots’; we will be digging to discover possible roots of inspiration, hoping to make us perform and listen to milestones in our repertoire in new ways. We open the season with a work which redefined what a symphony could be: Beethoven’s Ninth and in the first half of the concert we showcase some of the composers Beethoven knew, loved and even studied with – giving us a chance to experience Beethoven’s beloved work in a different light. Hungarians Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály actively dug into the roots of their own culture, so it’s only right that we dedicate a whole festival of three concerts to them across two afternoons and an evening. The orchestra and I – and some Hungarian folk musicians – will perform works inspired by peasant and gypsy music, as well as works unifying the different sources of inspiration, like Bartók’s Music for strings, percussion and celesta, and both composers’ Concertos for Orchestra. My fellow-countryman, Carl Nielsen, who was a teacher of my first piano-teacher, started his musical life as a fiddler in his father’s folk dance band and never stopped writing simple folk-like ballads. How did this influence his symphonic writing? Soprano Dénise Beck and the Danish String Quartet join us for new insights into Nielsen’s musical roots. For all its bursting passion and dazzling virtuosity, there is a spiritual side embedded in Rachmaninov’s musical language. To open our ears to those roots in his music we have invited the BBC Singers to sing music from the Russian Orthodox Church as well as Rachmaninov’s large choral suite, the Vespers, which is quoted in his final masterpiece, the Symphonic Dances. We end our season with Sibelius and his most Finnish symphony, Kullervo. Experience how traditional runo-singing of the Kalevala, the sounds of the kantele (Finnish lap harp), and many other influences, made their mark on Sibelius’s musical style. My warmest welcome to an excitingly different season – and thank you for the lovely welcome I experienced during my first season as Chief Conductor of the wonderful BBC SSO! Best wishes
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BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
Photo: Thomas Dausgaard by Thomas Grøndahl
Thomas
bbc.co.uk/ bbcsso
The Glasgow Series
Composer Roots
A major series of evening and afternoon concerts exploring musical influences on Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Bartók, Nielsen, and Sibelius, including contributions by folk musicians from across Europe. Please see Thomas Dausgaard’s introduction opposite.
Music You Love
Beethoven’s Ninth, Bruch’s Violin Concerto, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, the ‘Eroica’ Symphony: they’re all part of this season!
World-Class Soloists
Once again we’re joined by soloists from across the world including Simon Trpčeski, Kristóf Baráti, Ilya Gringolts, Martin Fröst, and the Danish String Quartet, plus two of Scotland’s own local heroes, Karen Cargill and Steven Osborne.
Tippett Cycle
Conductor Martyn Brabbins concludes his acclaimed cycle of Tippett symphonies, including the first professional performance of the composer’s early Symphony in B flat.
Subscribe and Save Up to 33%
Plus New Benefits for Season Ticket Holders! Start saving money by booking just 4 concerts in advance, but book more and you can save up to 33%. Plus there are new benefits for subscribing this year including exclusive access to open rehearsals and FREE access to our Post-Season Party… Please see pages 24 and 25 for more details.
Thomas Dausgaard Chief Conductor
Matthias Pintscher Artist-in-Association
Donald Runnicles Conductor Emeritus
Ilan Volkov Principal Guest Conductor
John Wilson Associate Guest Conductor
Laura Samuel Leader
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Beethoven
Opening Night: Thursday 21.09.2017 7.30pm
Composer Roots:
Palestrina Sicut Cervus (motet for four voices)
Every performance of the Ninth is a major occasion, and with four exceptional soloists and the fresh voices of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, this will be a magnificent opening to the new season. But no revolution happens in isolation, and in a specially-conceived first half, Thomas Dausgaard introduces a season-long exploration of Composers’ Roots with a journey into Beethoven’s musical ancestry: from Haydn and Mozart back to Handel, Bach and the music of the Renaissance. Hear the Ninth with new ears!
J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in B flat minor, BWV 867 (arr. for string quartet by Beethoven) Handel Zadok the Priest Gluck Dance of the Scythians (from Iphigénie en Tauride) Mozart Misericordias Domini, K.222 Haydn Symphony No.70 Beethoven Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’ Yulia Van Doren soprano Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano Stuart Jackson tenor Neal Davies bass Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Voices (Timothy Dean: chorus master)
Thomas Dausgaard conductor (approximate finish time: 9.55pm)
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
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Beethoven’s Ninth
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Thomas Dausgaard introduces Beethoven’s Ninth and the Composer Roots concerts. Preludes take place in the Recital Room at City Halls and are free to ticket-holders (limited seating availability).
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Elgar
Thursday 28.09.2017 7.30pm
Karen Cargill Sings Elgar
Elgar Sospiri
In a restless and angry world, music battles to make itself heard. And then, from amidst the turmoil and strife, a woman’s voice breaks through – singing not a hymn to joy, but a heartfelt and sorrowful blues. Michael Tippett had the idea for his Third Symphony while at the Edinburgh International Festival; written during the ‘Summer of Love’, it’s a masterpiece with an urgent message for the 21st century. And it’s a wonderfully appropriate counterpart to Elgar’s Sea Pictures. Songs of beauty, longing and despair from a composer who was anything but a stiff old Edwardian gent, sung here by the great Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill.
Elgar Sea Pictures* Tippett Symphony No.3+ Karen Cargill mezzo-soprano* Elizabeth Watts soprano+ Martyn Brabbins conductor (approximate finish time: 9.30pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Diana Burrell, composer and Tippett aficionado, talks about her own response to Tippett’s unique musical voice.
Bruch
Thursday 12.10.2017 7.30pm Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn (St Anthony Chorale) Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 Richard Strauss Aus Italien: symphonic poem Kristóf Baráti violin Christoph König conductor (approximate finish time: 9.25pm)
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
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Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 Richard Strauss once joked that he could depict even a knife and fork in music. So now imagine a panorama of the Roman Campagna, a moonlit Mediterranean beach and a carnival in Naples, painted in glowing orchestral colours with all the high spirits of a young genius on holiday – and loving every minute of it. When Christoph König conducts Strauss’s joyous Aus Italien, you’ll wonder why we don’t hear it more often. Brahms’s noble Haydn Variations and Bruch’s First Violin Concerto are rather more familiar. But wait til you hear Bruch’s much-loved melodies in the hands of our soloist, the extraordinary Kristóf Baráti. Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Kristóf Baráti in conversation about the concerto in tonight’s concert, and about musical life in general.
Photo: Karen Cargill by K K Dundas
Mendelssohn Beethoven 08 09
Thursday 26.10.2017 7.30pm
Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony
Britten Four Sea Interludes from ‘Peter Grimes’
“In the deep twilight we went today to the palace where Queen Mary lived and loved” wrote Felix Mendelssohn, after visiting Holyrood Chapel. “I think I have found there the beginning of my ‘Scottish’ Symphony.” And though much has changed in 187 years, there’s still no more melodious – or poetic – musical portrait of Scotland as seen through the eyes of one of music’s great Romantics. Thomas Dausgaard will set it against Britten’s four bracing studies of the North Sea, and will combine his vision with that of Sergey Khachatryan in the huge, sunlit expanses of Brahms’s Violin Concerto.
Brahms Violin Concerto Mendelssohn Symphony No.3 (Scottish) Sergey Khachatryan violin Thomas Dausgaard conductor (approximate finish time: 9.35pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Thomas Dausgaard introduces the works in tonight’s concert.
Thursday 16.11.2017 7.30pm
Volkov Conducts ‘Eroica’
Cassandra Miller ‘Round’ for orchestra
With two explosive chords, Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ symphony launched a new era for music – and created a world of limitless sonic possibility. It’s revolutionary in every sense: and for the BBC SSO’s Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov, who’s never afraid to explore new musical territory, it’s the natural culmination of a concert that opens with a brand new work by the Canadian composer Cassandra Miller, whose music has already wowed audiences at the orchestra’s Tectonics festival. The masterly Ilya Gringolts is the soloist in Salvatore Sciarrino’s fantastical Allegoria della notte: a piece that takes one of the world’s best-loved violin concertos, and turns it inside out.
(UK Premiere)
Salvatore Sciarrino Allegoria della notte (violin concerto) Beethoven Symphony No.3 (Eroica) Ilya Gringolts violin Ilan Volkov conductor (approximate finish time: 9.30pm)
Photo: Ilan Volkov by Alex Woodward
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Expert in Viennese culture, Dr Erica Buurman of Canterbury Christ Church University, introduces the ‘Eroica’ Symphony and talks about Beethoven the Revolutionary.
Tchaikovsky Mozart
Thursday 30.11.2017 7.30pm
Kozhukhin Plays Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1
January 1905: Russia teeters on the brink of revolution – and as crowds of protesters fill St Petersburg’s Palace Square, great and terrible events are about to unfold. With its furious trumpets, revolutionary songs and clanging alarm bells, Shostakovich’s massive Eleventh Symphony has the immediacy and vividness of a great film score, charged with symphonic power and a profound sense of human tragedy. As a former music director of the Bolshoi, Alexander Vedernikov understands how to find the drama in this panoramic score, as well as matching BBC SSO favourite Denis Kozhukhin, flourish for flourish and melody for melody in Tchaikovsky’s battle-royale of a First Piano Concerto.
Shostakovich Symphony No.11 ‘The Year 1905’ Denis Kozhukhin piano Alexander Vedernikov conductor (approximate finish time: 9.30pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Soviet music specialist Dr Pauline Fairclough of the University of Bristol, introduces Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony.
Thursday 18.01.2018 7.30pm
The Jussen Brothers Play Mozart
Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
You might already have heard about Lucas and Arthur Jussen – the two Dutch brothers, barely in their early twenties, whose playing both individually and as a pair has left critics in Europe and America grasping for superlatives. “Under their hands, the piano forms one flowing instrument” wrote one listener: but judge for yourself in Mozart’s concerto for two pianos. And then enter the living, breathing world of Michael Tippett’s Fourth Symphony; a whole lifetime, from birth to death, expressed in music that seems to evolve and grow before your very ears. Martyn Brabbins brings all his mastery and insight to a modern British masterpiece that demands to be heard live.
Mozart Concerto for two pianos, K.365 Tippett Symphony No.4 Lucas and Arthur Jussen pianos Martyn Brabbins conductor (approximate finish time: 9.15pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Lucas and Arthur Jussen discuss Mozart and their musical lives life in general. 10 11
Stravinsky Elgar
Thursday 01.02.2018 7.30pm
Stravinsky’s ‘Petrushka’
Tippett Symphony in B flat
Stravinsky’s ballet about the lovestruck puppet Petrushka astonished audiences in Paris in 1911, and over a century later, its orchestral colours are still as bright as new paint. Under Martyn Brabbins, it’s a chance for the whole orchestra to shine, while our principal horn Alberto Menéndez Escribano will have his moment in the spotlight for Mozart’s popular and playful Fourth Concerto. But first, be there as we uncover a major piece of forgotten British musical history: nothing less than the first professional performance of a full scale symphony by Michael Tippett, composed – and then withdrawn – just before he became internationally famous.
Mozart Horn Concerto No.4, K.495 Stravinsky Petrushka: ballet (1947) Alberto Menéndez Escribano horn Martyn Brabbins conductor (approximate finish time: 9.15pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Tippett biographer Oliver Soden talks about the newly-restored Tippett Symphony of 1933/34.
Thursday 15.02.2018 7.30pm
Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Elgar Overture: Cockaigne (In London Town)
The music of Elgar and Walton speaks with a very particular accent, but the message is universal. The BBC SSO’s Associate Guest Conductor John Wilson’s affinity with British music makes him a natural for Elgar’s bright ’n’ breezy Cockaigne overture. But when he joins forces with Leonard Elschenbroich expect to hear Elgar’s Cello Concerto in a completely new light. And expect Walton’s explosive First Symphony – a fusion of love and rage, forged at white heat in an age of anxiety – to go off like a volcano.
Elgar Cello Concerto Walton Symphony No.1 Leonard Elschenbroich cello John Wilson conductor (approximate finish time: 9.30pm)
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
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Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Iain Farrington, General Editor of the Elgar Complete Edition, talks about Elgar’s Cello Concerto and its links with Walton.
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Bartók 1
Sunday 25.02.2018 2.00pm
Composer Roots:
Kodály Dances of Marosszék
Bartók Music for strings, percussion and celesta
“Every art has the right to strike its roots in the art of a previous age” declared Béla Bartók. So when he took to the hills and fields of rural Hungary and Romania, he didn’t just record the folk-dances of a vanishing world, he found in them the key to the musical future. In this concert, Bartók goes to the dance: you’ll hear flashing fiddles, stamping rhythms, timeless calm and paprika-flavoured harmonies. But you’ll also hear some of the most original and gripping sounds of the 20th century, as Thomas Dausgaard and the orchestra follow Bartók’s musical journey from folklorist to the creator of an electrifying new musical language.
Nóri Kovács and Parapács Thomas Dausgaard conductor
Pre-concert event: Bartók’s music for young people, performed by young local musicians.
Bartók Selections from:
Romanian Folk Dances Hungarian Peasant Songs Hungarian Sketches Transylvanian Dances
Bartók and the Dance
(approximate finish time: 4.15pm)
Bartók 2
Thursday 01.03.2018 7.30pm
Composer Roots:
Kodály Concerto for Orchestra
In the village bands of old Transylvania, every musician was a virtuoso. That may or may not have been the imaginative seed that grew into Bartók’s and Kodály’s Concertos for Orchestra: two kindred masterpieces, in which these two great musical friends unleashed all the energy and colour of the modern symphony orchestra to say something unforgettably personal. But what’s for certain is that few 20th century orchestral works draw more brilliantly on their folk roots – an unfailing source of creative renewal. Thomas Dausgaard conducts, and Simon Trpčeski is the soloist in Bartók’s last piano concerto: composed in exile, but drenched in the spirit of the Great Hungarian Plain.
Bartók Piano Concerto No.3 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra Simon Trpčeski piano Thomas Dausgaard conductor (approximate finish time: 9.25pm)
Bartók and the Concerto
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Professor Jonathan Cross of the University of Oxford talks about Bartók. BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
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Please see page 20 for details of the Bartók Afternoon Performance concert on Thursday 22 February.
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Nielsen 1
Thursday 22.03.2018 7.30pm
Composer Roots:
Nielsen Pan and Syrinx
Nielsen’s Fifth Symphony begins in an uncertain world – and then has to fight for its very life. But then, as Nielsen himself put it, “Music is life”; and this tough, shattering, ultimately unconquerable symphony might just be 20th century music’s supreme tribute to the power of the human spirit. Given Thomas Dausgaard’s special empathy for Nielsen, it should make a compelling climax to a concert that begins with Nielsen’s radiant evocation of Greek myth, and traces his creative roots back to the classical proportions and intense emotional power of Mozart’s evergreen Clarinet Concerto – played here by a clarinettist whose every performance is an occasion, Martin Fröst.
Nielsen’s Fifth
Mozart Clarinet Concerto, K.622 Nielsen Symphony No.5 Martin Fröst basset-clarinet Thomas Dausgaard conductor (approximate finish time: 9.15pm)
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Nordic music expert Leah Broad of the University of Oxford introduces Carl Nielsen’s music.
Nielsen 2
Composer Roots:
Sunday 25.03.2018 2.00pm
Nielsen’s Violin Concerto
Traditional Danish folk-songs Nielsen Polka for Solo Violin Nordic/Danish Folk-Tunes Nielsen Violin Concerto Nielsen Symphony No.3 ‘Sinfonia espansiva’ Danish String Quartet Henning Kraggerud violin Dénise Beck soprano Benjamin Appl baritone Thomas Dausgaard conductor
“The whole world was like a great bow, stretching from north to south”. As the 16-year old Carl Nielsen took the ferry from his island home to a new musical life in Copenhagen, he remembered that “everything seemed to swell within me”. He never lost that youthful sense of energy, of optimism, of life. It pulses in every bar of his soaring Sinfonia espansiva, and yells and leaps through his typically quirky (but hugely entertaining) Violin Concerto, music rooted in Nielsen’s working-class rural childhood. Thomas Dausgaard feels passionately about this composer and he’s assembled a team of outstanding young soloists, plus Denmark’s leading string quartet, to dig deep into this wonderful music.
(approximate finish time: 5.15pm)
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
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Photos: Thomas Dausgaard by Reuben Paris and Martin Fröst by Mats Backer
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Berlioz
Thursday 12.04.2018 7.30pm
Runnicles Conducts ‘Symphonie Fantastique’
Ravel La valse
Nothing in music quite compares to the sensational, opium-fuelled spectacular that is Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. Born from unrequited desire, and sweeping from pastoral love-scenes to a witches’ Sabbath, it continues to dazzle the ear. Donald Runnicles, the BBC SSO’s Conductor Emeritus, is a master of musical drama; he won’t hold back, any more than he’ll ignore the darkness that swirls beneath the sumptuous surface of Ravel’s La Valse. And he rejoins Scottish pianist Steven Osborne in Beethoven’s most personal – and poetic – piano concerto: music that asks as many questions as it answers.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Steven Osborne piano Donald Runnicles conductor (approximate finish time: 9.30pm)
Dvořák
Thursday 26.04.2018 7.30pm
Pintscher Conducts Dvořák
Smetana Vltava and Šárka from Má Vlast
In 19th century Bohemia, Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana gave a voice to a people: creating from national myths and old dance tunes a musical language that spoke to the world. Matthias Pintscher brings a composer’s sense of adventure to a concert that begins with Smetana’s eventful journey down the River Vltava and ends amidst the jubilant trumpets of Dvořák’s stirring symphony. In between comes a glimpse of a teenage composer in love, as the award-winning young French virtuoso David Kadouch spins purest gold from the hearts and flowers of Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto. As The Arts Desk put it “If you see Kadouch on the bill anywhere, don’t miss him”.
Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 Dvořák Symphony No.4 David Kadouch piano Matthias Pintscher conductor (approximate finish time: 9.35pm)
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Peter Nelson, from the University of Edinburgh, introduces the concert.
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Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room Jessica Duchen, novelist and writer on Classical Music, talks about the place of the Second Piano Concerto in Chopin’s life. Photos: Matthias Pintscher by Felix Broede and Donald Runnicles by Chris Christodoulou
Rachmaninov Sibelius
Sunday 13.05.2018 2.00pm
Composer Roots:
Traditional Gregorian Chant in Russian Orthodox Style
Rachmaninov’s career took him from the twilight of Imperial Russia to the cocktails and swimming pools of Beverly Hills. And yet something timeless echoes throughout everything he wrote: the ancient znamenny chants of the Russian Orthodox Church. They’re present in the long, singing melodies of his mighty Third Piano Concerto – performed here by the “phenomenal” (Frankfurter Allgemeine) Behzod Abduraimov. They haunt the glittering, Art Deco world of the brilliant Symphonic Dances. And they’re the profoundly beautiful soul of his Vespers, written to console in the darkest days of the Great War. With the BBC Singers, singing a specially abridged version of the Vespers, Thomas Dausgaard and the BBC SSO explore musical roots that run deeper than any words.
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Rachmaninov Vespers
Behzod Abduraimov piano BBC Singers (Elena Sharkova: conductor)
Thomas Dausgaard conductor (approximate finish time: 5.15pm)
Closing Night: Thursday 17.05.2018 7.30pm
Composer Roots:
Traditional Finnish folk-music
“Kullervo, son of Kalervo/Had the very bluest stockings/And the fairest golden hair…” Every story has to start somewhere, and in this remarkable choral symphony the young Sibelius took inspiration from Finland’s most ancient poem, the Kalevala. This is Sibelius in the raw: the tragedy of a young hero and a love more terrible than war, told in music of epic power and brooding passion. So gather round: Thomas Dausgaard, two magnificent young singers and one of Scandinavia’s best choirs retell the story tonight, alongside performances of folk music from the same far Northern roots. And then, let’s dance: the evening – and our season – ends with a party in the Old Fruitmarket.*
Sibelius Kullervo Finnish Folk Musicians Helena Juntunen soprano Benjamin Appl baritone Lund University Male Voice Choir (Lunds Studentsångare) Thomas Dausgaard conductor
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Please note there will be two intervals during this concert.
*All tickets for the Post-Season Party are £5.00 (free to season ticket holders attending this concert)
Sibelius’s ‘Kullervo’
+ Post-Season Party
Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room A chance to meet the folk musicians performing in the concert.
Afternoon Performance 20 21
Thursday Afternoons, 2pm Enjoy daytime concerts at City Halls featuring music you know, and music you’ve yet to discover!
05.10.2017
15.03.2018
Mozart Symphony No.31, K.297/300A (Paris)
Barber Overture: The School for Scandal
Mozart Arias from The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni (arr. Leleux)
Bernstein Serenade – after Plato’s ‘Symposium’*
Beethoven Overture: Coriolan
Copland Appalachian Spring: Suite
Schubert Symphony No.4 (Tragic)
Harris Symphony No.3
François Leleux oboe/director
Ning Feng violin* John Wilson conductor
An Afternoon with François Leleux
Oboist extraordinaire, François Leleux, conducts and plays music from the Classical era.
14.12.2017
Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Simon Wills The Island: symphonic poem Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer* Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (selection from ballet/suites) Kathryn Rudge mezzo-soprano* Ben Gernon conductor Ben Gernon conducts Chausson’s rapturous song of love and nature, paired here with selections from Prokofiev’s thrilling ballet score.
22.02.2018
Kelemen Plays Bartók+ Kodály Summer Evening Bartók Violin Concerto No.1 Bartók Rhapsody No.2 for violin and orchestra Bartók Miraculous Mandarin: ballet suite Barnabás Kelemen violin Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Voices (Timothy Dean: chorus master)
Thomas Dausgaard conductor Hungarian violinist Barnabás Kelemen tackles Bartók’s first concerto, in a concert with the composer’s Miraculous Mandarin suite.
John Wilson Conducts ‘Appalachian Spring’
Associate Guest Conductor John Wilson conducts a programme including some neglected music by composers from the USA.
19.04.2018
Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ Symphony Mozart Serenade in G, K.525 (Eine kleine Nachtmusik) Britten Les illuminations* Bridge Three Idylls (arranged for string orchestra) Mozart Symphony No.41 (Jupiter) Claire Booth soprano* Laura Samuel director The BBC SSO’s Leader, Laura Samuel, directs the orchestra in works that are full of stunning string writing, including Britten’s famous settings of Rimbaud, and Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ Symphony.
Tickets: £11.50 if bought in advance £13.50 if bought on the day of performance Students: £6 Venue booking fees may apply (please see page 27). No concessions. All seating at Afternoon Performance concerts is unreserved.
+ NB This concert forms part of the Bartók Composer Roots series. Please see pages 12 and 13 for details of two more concerts.
Hear and Now
Saturday Nights, 8pm Hear and Now is BBC Radio 3’s Saturday late-night music series. Join the orchestra for these concerts recording new music and works from the past 50 years…
11.11.2017
Matthias Pintscher Conducts
Tenney and Maceda Tenney Clang
Jaehyuck Choi New Work
Tenney Diapason
Toshio Hosokawa Im Nebel*
Maceda Distemperament
Takemitsu Twill and Twilight
llan Volkov conductor
Vivier Siddhartha Simon Höfele trumpet* Matthias Pintscher conductor Asian sounds and colours permeate this concert, featuring works by Hosokawa and Takemitsu, a new piece by South Korean composer Jaehyuck Choi, and Vivier’s Hermann Hesse-inspired symphonic poem.
Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov pairs music by US composer James Tenney with that of the Filipino composer and ethnomusicologist, José Maceda. Tickets available from Monday 4 December 2017
10.03.2018
Tickets available from Monday 2 October 2017
Hyde, Hopkins, Bray & Burrell
09.12.2017
Charlotte Bray Stone Dancer
Scottish Inspirations to include David Fennessy New Work
John Hopkins Double Concerto for trumpet and saxophone Thomas Hyde New Work (World Premiere)
(BBC Commission, World Premiere)
Diana Burrell Resurrection
William Sweeney Eòlas nan Ribheid (The Wisdom of the Reeds) concertino for clarinet and orchestra
Marcus Weiss saxophone Marco Blaauw trumpet Geoffrey Paterson conductor
(BBC Commission, World Premiere)
Anna Clyne Beltane (BBC Commission, World Premiere)
Yann Ghiro clarinet Thomas Dausgaard conductor BBC Commissions for the BBC SSO of new works inspired by Scotland and its culture continues with a new work for clarinet and orchestra, a piece from Anna Clyne inspired by the Beltane Fire Festival and much more. Thomas Dausgaard conducts… Tickets available from Monday 30 October 2017
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
13.01.2018
bbc.co.uk/ bbcsso
A World Premiere from Thomas Hyde performed with a recent work from Charlotte Bray, a double concerto by John Hopkins, and Diana Burrell’s ritualistic Resurrection. Tickets available from Monday 29 January 2018
Hear and Now Concerts are FREE but limited to two tickets per application. Venue booking fees may apply (please see page 27). Seating is unreserved.
Family and Festive
Sunday 08.10.2017 2.30pm
Music, the Universe, and Everything… Everyone aged 8+ Don your white coat and safety goggles and join us for a fun concert exploring the weird worlds of music and science. Journey into the inner workings of the human ear and the science of sound waves. Discover music by the composers who were inspired by the awesome power of the Earth, the human race, the solar system, and the universe. Find out about the hidden codes that lie beneath some of the greatest pieces of all time, and hear lots of epic music played live on stage by an 80-piece orchestra! Featuring guest boffins and live on-stage experiments, big bangs and sonic booms, this afternoon family concert is perfect for curious minds of all ages, and provides an introduction classical music that’s out of this world! The concert will end at approximately 4pm, and includes hands-on music and science demonstrations in the foyer before the concert and during the interval.
Tickets: £12.00 Under 16s and Unemployed: £6.00 Venue Booking Fees may apply. Please see page 26.
Sunday 17.12.2017 3.00pm
Christmas at the Movies Jamie MacDougall singer and presenter Clark Rundell conductor “For many Glaswegians, the orchestra’s family concert of favourite film themes has become as much a part of Christmas as watching the movies themselves.” **** The Herald Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without our annual concert of music from the movies. Hear some of the greatest (and most famous) film music ever written, featuring themes from the Golden Age of Hollywood, through classics by John Williams, right up to some of the best soundtracks of recent years. As ever, Jamie MacDougall is in the director’s chair, so expect a classic song or two as well: it’s a musical matinee of movie magic for all ages!
Friday 22.12.2017 7.30pm
Christmas with the Bbc Sso Jamie MacDougall singer and presenter Stephen Bell conductor It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Gather family and friends and join us on the Friday night before Christmas for a concert packed with seasonal songs and orchestral favourites. Presented by tenor and BBC Radio Scotland presenter Jamie MacDougall, it’s the ideal musical celebration to get everyone into the festive spirit.
Tickets for Christmas Concerts: £30, £25, £20, £15 Under 16s: Half Price Venue booking fees may apply. Please see page 26.
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Get Involved
Come and Create at City Halls Here’s your chance to explore music from across the season, join-in with professionals from the BBC SSO and take part in relaxed sessions that explore music and creativity. They’re recommended for everyone aged 7+ and use works from the season as a source of inspiration. Almost any instrument can take part; from accordion to trumpet, violin to clarsach, bassoon to bagpipes. You don’t need to read music, and if you don’t have an instrument anyone can join the choir, or play percussion. Places are FREE but limited and you need to sign up in advance. For application details please visit our website bbc.co.uk/bbcsso or email ssooutreach@bbc.co.uk
Sunday 12.11.2017 2.00pm
Come and Create: Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony Sunday 28.01.2018 2.00pm
Come and Create: Tippett’s Symphonies Sunday 11.03.2018 2.00pm
Come and Create: Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring’
Sessions last approximately 3 hours.
Learning and Outreach Ten Pieces is the BBC’s flagship classical music education project; and as part of this the BBC SSO delivers concerts, coaching and creative projects all over Scotland, to encourage thousands of school-age children to get creative with classical music using ten famous works as inspiration. In 2018 we’ll give concerts in Glasgow, Perth and Aberdeen giving hundreds of pupils the opportunity to hear a symphony orchestra live. We’ve been part of Sistema Scotland – a project which engenders social change through music – since its inception and regularly work with children in the Big Noise centres in Raploch and Govanhill. In 2016 over 100 of the young musicians from Govanhill performed alongside the BBC SSO on stage at City Halls in Glasgow in a side-by-side performance for friends and family. And we also continue to encourage and mentor the next generation of performers and composers with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: from our conducting fellowship to our orchestral mentoring scheme; and in innovative collaborations like Dream On! which recently brought the orchestra together with hundreds of emerging young artistic talents from the RCS, Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow University, to make a new musical work inspired by the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
BBC SSO Season 2017/18 City Halls Glasgow
bbc.co.uk/ bbcsso
Image credit: Derek Ironside
Book a Season Ticket Save up to 33% with a Season Ticket
Why Book a Season Ticket?
Season Ticket Prices
There are lots of good reasons to book in advance for the BBC SSO’s Glasgow Series. Not only are you guaranteed a terrific year of music but you can also:
Single Tickets
Save Money by booking just 4 or more concerts – and the
more you book the more you save. This year you can save up to 33% across the Glasgow Series.
Get a FREE Concert when you book for 9, 12, or
16 concerts, which means you can even experience more music. For example, it’s the same price to book for 13 concerts as it is for 12, so use your free extra concert to explore a composer or a piece you don’t know.
£28.00
£23.50
£19.50
£14.00
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4 Concerts
£95.20
£79.90
£66.30
£47.60 15
Concession
£89.60
£75.20
£62.40
£44.80 20
5 Concerts
£112.00
£94.00
£78.00
£56.00 20
Concession
£105.00 £88.10
£73.10
£52.50 25
£93.60
£67.20
6 Concerts
£134.40 £112.80
Concession
£126.00 £105.75 £87.75 £63.00 25
7 Concerts
£156.80
Concession
£147.00 £123.38 £102.38 £73.50 25
the best seats guaranteed at the best price. Exclusive Season Ticket booking opens on Wednesday 22 March 2017.
8 concerts
£168.00 £141.00
Concession
£156.80 £131.60 £109.20 £78.40 30
NEW: Access to Open Rehearsals: For the
10 or 9 concerts
£189.00 £158.63
Concession
£176.40 £148.05 £122.85 £88.20 30
Priority Booking: Secure the seats you want in advance;
first time, Season Ticket holders will receive invitations to attend open rehearsals during Summer 2017. Book your subscription by Monday 3 July 2017 to receive details. Limited availability.
NEW: Tickets to our Post-Season Party:
If your subscription includes tickets for the Closing Night concert on Thursday 17 May 2018, you are entitled to the same number of FREE tickets to the party in the Old Fruitmarket that night. Extra tickets are £5.00 and may be subject to venue booking fees.
Extra Discount for Over 60s: Seniors are entitled to a further 5% off subscription prices for the Glasgow Series.
Exchange your tickets for another concert in the Glasgow Series if you find you can’t attend one you’ve booked in advance. We will happily swap them for another Glasgow Series concert. Please note that the Box Office requires 24 hours’ notice and a £1 charge applies. Exchanges cannot be processed during the hour preceeding a concert. Expand your musical horizons: There’s such
a wide range and mix of music in our Glasgow Series that you’re bound to discover something new.
£131.60
£180.95
20
£109.20 £78.40 20
£117.00
£131.63
£150.15
£84.00 25
£94.50 25
11 concerts
£215.60
Concession
£200.20 £168.03 £139.43 £100.10 35
£107.80 30
13 or 12 Concerts
£235.20 £197.40
Concession
£218.40 £183.30 £152.10 £109.20 35
£163.80 £117.60 30
14 Concerts
£274.40 £230.30 £191.10
Concession
£254.80 £213.85 £177.45 £127.40 35
£137.20 30
15 Concerts
£294.00 £246.75 £204.75 £147.00 30
Concession
£273.00 £229.05 £190.05 £136.50 35
17 or 16 Concerts
£300.16
Concession
£277.76 £233.12 £193.44 £138.88 38
£251.92
£209.04 £150.08 33
How to Book a Season Ticket 1: Decide how many concerts you want to attend (checking if you are entitled to a free one!) and where you would like to sit. 2: Calculate your discount from the grid and then fill in the form on page 25. 3: Cut off and return to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Box Office using the address provided. Please note that there is a Box Office charge of £2.00 per subscription transaction.
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4 That’s it! Season Ticket booking is by post only.
Box Office: 0141 353 8000 bbc.co.uk/bbcsso II I Balcony
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Please fill in form and return to:
BBC SSO Subscriptions Glasgow Life Box Office Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 2 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow G2 3NY
Please mark your preferred seating area with a cross on the plan and the number of tickets required against your chosen dates/seating area on the form. Remember that if you are booking 9, 12 or 16 concerts in the Glasgow Series you are entitled to an extra concert from the Series at no additional cost. Please mark your FREE concert in the column provided.
The Glasgow Series 2017/18 Thursday 21 September Opening Night: Beethoven’s Ninth Thursday 28 September Karen Cargill Sings Elgar Thursday 12 October Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 Thursday 26 October Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony Thursday 16 November Volkov Conducts ‘Eroica’ Thursday 30 November Kozhukhin Plays Tchaikovsky Thursday 18 January The Jussen Brothers Play Mozart Thursday 1 February Stravinsky’s ‘Petrushka’ Thursday 15 February Elgar’s Cello Concerto Sunday 25 February Bartók and the Dance Thursday 1 March Bartók and the Concerto Thursday 22 March Nielsen’s Fifth Sunday 25 March Nielsen’s Violin Concerto Thursday 12 April Runnicles Conducts ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ Thursday 26 April Pintscher Conducts Dvořák Sunday 13 May Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 Thursday 17 May Closing Night: Sibelius’s ‘Kullervo’ + Season Party
Please Complete: No. of Concerts
No. of people at Standard price
Price Band
No. of people at Concession price
Seating Area
Total Price of Concerts £
Returning Glasgow Series Season Ticket Holders: I would like to retain the following seats from the previous season if possible.
(venue transaction fee + postage) Grand Total
£2.00 £
Tick box if applicable: I would like FREE tickets for the Post-Season Party on Thursday 17 May 2018.
Payment Details PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS Title
First name
I authorise you to debit my credit/debit card
Surname
(PLEASE DELETE AS APPROPRIATE)
Address
VISA | MASTERCARD | MAESTRO Card no. Start date
Expiry date
Postcode
Issue no.
3 digit security code
Telephone
Signature
E-mail I enclose a cheque made payable to Glasgow Life
The Glasgow Series Single Tickets, Discounts and Box Office Single Ticket Prices
Box Office Charges
Booking for single tickets opens: Monday 24 April 2017
Please note that the Glasgow Life Box Office charges a fee of £1.50 on all telephone bookings and £1.00 on all online bookings. There will be a £1.00 charge if you wish your tickets posted to you.
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Stalls £28.00 £23.50 £19.50 £14.00 Terraces £19.50 Balcony
£28.00 £23.50 £14.00
Getting to City Halls and the Old Fruitmarket
50% Discount for Registered Disabled: Disabled patrons and a companion will receive a 50% discount on any single full price ticket.
City Halls and the Old Fruitmarket are situated at the heart of the Merchant City at the north end of Candleriggs between Trongate and Ingram Street. They are within easy walking distance of Argyle Street, Queen Street, High Street and Central railway stations as well as St. Enoch and Buchanan Street subway stations. Buchanan Bus Station is a 15 minute walk away. All entrances at City Halls and the Old Fruitmarket are fully accessible with lifts to every level of the auditorium. Wheelchairs are available on request and can be pre-booked via the box office. Guide dogs are welcome at City Halls.
Groups: Bring a group of 10 and get one extra ticket free (that’s two free tickets for a group of 20, etc.). For details of group booking please call the Box Office on 0141 353 8000.
Access
Glasgow Series Discounts £6 tickets for Students, Under 16s and Unemployed: Students (those in full time education), Under 16s and the Unemployed are entitled to £6 tickets to the Glasgow Series (subject to availability). Proof of status may be required.
School Groups: We welcome school parties to City Halls for BBC SSO concerts. If you are a teacher interested in bringing a group, please email: ssooutreach@bbc.co.uk
City Halls Box Office 0141 353 8000
The Grand Hall at City Halls is accessible to those with mobility difficulties. A lift from the Candleriggs entrance gives access to all levels. The auditorium is equipped with an induction loop and an infra-red assisted hearing facility. Please notify the Box Office when booking.
Opening Hours City Halls, Candleriggs Glasgow G1 1NQ Monday – Saturday: 12 noon – 6pm (later on concert evenings) Sundays: Opening hours vary Please contact the box office to confirm Tickets are also available from: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Box Office 2 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow G2 3NY
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A large print, text-only version of this brochure is available, for a copy please telephone: 0141 552 0909
Customers’ personal details are held in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Data Protection Act 1998. If consent is given at the time of ticket purchase, this information will be passed to the BBC SSO and may be used to contact you with information about forthcoming concerts or BBC events. These details will not be passed on to any third party. If you wish to have your name removed from the orchestra’s mailing-list please e-mail: bbcsso@bbc.co.uk or telephone: 0141 422 6728. The information in this brochure was correct at the time of publishing. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra reserves the right to amend artists and programmes for any of the listed concerts if necessary.
Season Diary Thursday 21 September 2017, 7.30pm Opening Night Composer Roots: Beethoven’s Ninth Palestrina Sicut Cervus JS Bach Prelude and Fugue in B flat minor Handel Zadok the Priest Gluck Dance of the Scythians Mozart Misericordias Domini Haydn Symphony No.70 Beethoven Symphony No.9* Yulia Van Doren soprano* Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano* Stuart Jackson tenor* Neal Davies bass* Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Voices Thomas Dausgaard conductor Thursday 28 September, 7.30pm Karen Cargill Sings Elgar Elgar Sospiri Elgar Sea Pictures* Tippett Symphony No.3+ Karen Cargill mezzo-soprano* Elizabeth Watts soprano+ Martyn Brabbins conductor Thursday 5 October, 2.00pm Afternoon Performance: François Leleux Please see page 20 for details. Sunday 8 October, 2.30pm Family Concert: Music, The Universe, and Everything… Please see page 22 for details. Thursday 12 October, 7.30pm Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 Brahms Variations on a theme by Haydn Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 Richard Strauss Aus Italien Kristóf Baráti violin Christoph König conductor Thursday 26 October, 7.30pm Mendelssohn’s ‘Scottish’ Symphony Britten Four Sea Interludes from ‘Peter Grimes’ Brahms Violin Concerto Mendelssohn Symphony No.3 (Scottish) Sergey Khachatryan violin Thomas Dausgaard conductor Saturday 11 November, 8.00pm Hear and Now: Matthias Pintscher Conducts… Please see page 21 for details. Thursday 16 November, 7.30pm Volkov Conducts ‘Eroica’ Cassandra Miller ‘Round’ Salvatore Sciarrino Allegoria della notte* Beethoven Symphony No.3 (Eroica) Ilya Gringolts violin* Ilan Volkov conductor Thursday 30 November, 7.30pm Kozhukhin Plays Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 Shostakovich Symphony No.11 ‘The Year 1905’ Denis Kozhukhin piano Alexander Vedernikov conductor
Saturday 9 December, 8.00pm Hear and Now: Scottish Inspirations Please see page 21 for details. Thursday 14 December, 2.00pm Afternoon Performance: Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Please see page 20 for details. Sunday 17 December, 3.00pm Christmas at the Movies Jamie MacDougall singer and presenter Clark Rundell conductor Friday 22 December, 7.30pm Christmas with the Bbc Sso Jamie MacDougall singer and presenter Stephen Bell conductor Saturday 13 January 2018, 8.00pm Hear and Now: José Maceda and James Tenney Please see page 21 for details. Thursday 18 January, 7.30pm The Jussen Brothers Play Mozart Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Mozart Concerto for two pianos, K.365 Tippett Symphony No.4 Lucas and Arthur Jussen pianos Martyn Brabbins conductor Thursday 1 February, 7.30pm Stravinsky’s ‘Petrushka’ Tippett Symphony in B flat Mozart Horn Concerto No.4, K.495 Stravinsky Petrushka: ballet (1947) Alberto Menéndez Escribano horn Martyn Brabbins conductor
Thursday 15 March, 2.00pm Afternoon Performance: John Wilson Conducts ‘Appalachian Spring’ Please see page 20 for details. Thursday 22 March, 7.30pm Composer Roots: Nielsen’s Fifth Nielsen Pan and Syrinx Mozart Clarinet Concerto, K.622 Nielsen Symphony No.5 Martin Fröst basset-clarinet Thomas Dausgaard conductor Sunday 25 March, 2.00pm Composer Roots: Nielsen’s Violin Concerto Traditional Danish Songs Nielsen Polka for solo violin Traditional Nordic and Danish Folk Music Nielsen Violin Concerto Nielsen Symphony No.3 Danish String Quartet Henning Kraggerud violin Dénise Beck soprano Benjamin Appl baritone Thomas Dausgaard conductor Thursday 12 April, 7.30pm Runnicles Conducts ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ Ravel La valse Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Steven Osborne piano Donald Runnicles conductor Thursday 19 April, 2.00pm Afternoon Performance: Mozart’s ‘Jupiter Symphony’ Please see page 20 for details.
Thursday 15 February, 7.30pm Elgar’s Cello Concerto Elgar Overture: Cockaigne Elgar Cello Concerto Walton Symphony No.1 Leonard Elschenbroich cello John Wilson conductor
Thursday 26 April, 7.30pm Pintscher Conducts Dvořák Smetana Vltava and Šárka from Má Vlast Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 Dvořák Symphony No.4 David Kadouch piano Matthias Pintscher conductor
Thursday 22 February, 2.00pm Afternoon Performance: Kelemen Plays Bartók Please see page 20 for details.
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May Tectonics Festival 2018 Details to be announced February 2018
Sunday 25 February, 2.00pm Composer Roots: Bartók and the Dance Kodály Dances of Marosszék Bartók Selections from: Romanian Folk Dances, Hungarian Peasant Songs, Hungarian Sketches, Transylvanian Dances Bartók Music for strings, percussion and celesta Nóri Kovács and Parapács Thomas Dausgaard conductor Thursday 1 March, 7.30pm Composer Roots: Bartók and the Concerto Kodály Concerto for Orchestra Bartók Piano Concerto No.3 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra Simon Trpčeski piano Thomas Dausgaard conductor Saturday 10 March, 8.00pm Hear and Now: Hyde, Hopkins, Bray & Burrell Please see page 21 for details.
Sunday 13 May, 2.00pm Composer Roots: Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 Gregorian Chant* Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 Gregorian Chant* Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Rachmaninov Vespers* BBC Singers* (Elena Sharkova: conductor) Behzod Abduraimov piano Thomas Dausgaard conductor Thursday 17 May, 7.30pm Closing Night Composer Roots 7: Sibelius’s ‘Kullervo’ Traditional Finnish Folk Music Sibelius Kullervo Helena Juntunen soprano Benjamin Appl baritone Lund University Male Voice Choir Thomas Dausgaard conductor followed by Post-Season Party in the Old Fruitmarket