AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL 16 – 18 Mar 2022
SCO.ORG.UK
PROGRAMME
Season 2021/22
AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL Kindly supported by SCO American Development Fund
Wednesday 16 March, 7.30pm Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews Thursday 17 March, 7.30pm The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh Friday 18 March, 7.30pm City Halls, Glasgow Glass Symphony No 3* Stravinsky Concerto in E flat 'Dumbarton Oaks'
* Please note that this is a change to the previously advertised programme.
Interval of 20 minutes
Barber Adagio for Strings Copland Appalachian Spring: Suite Hugo Ticciati* Violin / Director Hugo Ticciati
4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB +44 (0)131 557 6800 | info@sco.org.uk | sco.org.uk
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039. Company registration No. SC075079.
Thank You
FUNDING PARTNERS ––––– The SCO is extremely grateful to the Scottish Government and to The City of Edinburgh Council for their continued support, and we would like to thank Dunard Fund for the foresight and understanding which their Trustees showed by supporting us through the exceptional gifts they granted in 2020 and 2021. We are also indebted to our Business Partners, all of the charitable trusts, foundations and lottery funders which support our projects, and the very many individuals who give financial support to our work and who enable us to do so much. Thank you.
Core Funder
Benefactor
Local Authority
Creative Learning Partner
Business Partners
Key Funders
Delivered by
Thank You
SCO DONORS Diamond
Gold
Malcolm and Avril Gourlay
William and Elizabeth Berry
James and Felicity Ivory
Lord Matthew Clarke
Norman and Christine Lessels
Caroline Denison-Pender
Clair and Vincent Ryan
David and Sheila Ferrier
Alan and Sue Warner
Chris and Claire Fletcher Louise D Fortune
Platinum
James Friend
Eric G Anderson
Judith and David Halkerston
David Caldwell in memory of Ann
Ian Hutton
Tom and Alison Cunningham
David Kerr
Andrew and Kirsty Desson
Gordon Kirk
John and Jane Griffiths
Robert Mackay and Philip Whitley
J Douglas Home
Roy and Svend McEwan-Brown
Audrey Hopkins
June Miller
Dr and Mrs Peter Jackson
Alan Moat
Dr Daniel Lamont
James F Muirhead
Chris and Gill Masters
John and Liz Murphy
Duncan and Una McGhie
Alison and Stephen Rawles
Anne-Marie McQueen
Mr and Mrs J Reid
Patrick and Susan Prenter
Andrew Robinson
George Ritchie
Hilary E Ross
Martin and Mairi Ritchie
Ian S Swanson
Elaine Ross
John-Paul and Joanna Temperley
George Rubienski
Anne Usher
Jill and Brian Sandford
Catherine Wilson
Michael and Elizabeth Sudlow
Neil and Philippa Woodcock
Robert and Elizabeth Turcan
G M Wright
Tom and Natalie Usher
Bruce and Lynda Wyer
Anny and Bobby White Finlay and Lynn Williamson Ruth Woodburn
Silver Roy Alexander Joseph I Anderson Pamela Andrews and Alan Norton Dr Peter Armit William Armstrong Fiona and Neil Ballantyne Joseph and Patricia Banks Timothy Barnes and Janet Sidaway The Batsleer Family Jack Bogle Jane Borland Jane and Michael Boyle Mary Brady Elizabeth Brittin John Brownlie Laura Buist Robert Burns Sheila Colvin
Dr William Fortescue Jeanette Gilchrist
Robert Duncan
David Gilmour
Gavin McCrone
Dr David Grant
Michael McGarvie
Andrew Hadden J Martin Haldane Ronnie and Ann Hanna Ruth Hannah Robin Harding Roderick Hart Norman Hazelton
Brian Miller James and Helen Moir Alistair Montgomerie Margaret Mortimer and Ken Jobling Andrew Murchison Hugh and Gillian Nimmo
Ron and Evelynne Hill
David and Tanya Parker
Phyll and Wren Hoskyns-Abrahall
Hilary and Bruce Patrick
Dianne Howieson
Maggie Peatfield
Clephane Hume
Alastair Reid
Tim and Anna Ingold
Fiona Reith
David and Pamela Jenkins
Alan Robertson
Catherine Johnstone
Olivia Robinson
Sir Raymond and Lady Johnstone
Catherine Steel
Julie and Julian Keanie
Lorn and Camilla Cowie
Marty Kehoe
Lord and Lady Cullen of Whitekirk
Professor Christopher and
Adam and Lesley Cumming
James McClure in memory of
Mrs Alison Kelnar
Gillian Stewart Ian Szymanski Marion Thomson Douglas and Sandra Tweddle
Jo and Christine Danbolt
Dr and Mrs Ian Laing
Dr Wilma Dickson
Janey and Barrie Lambie
Sylvia Dow
Graham and Elma Leisk
James Dunbar-Nasmith
Geoff Lewis
C S Weir
Dr and Mrs Alan Falconer
Dorothy A Lunt
Bill Welsh
Sheila Ferguson
Vincent Macaulay
Roderick Wylie
Dr James W E Forrester
Isobel and Alan MacGillivary
Margaretha Walker James Wastle
––––– We believe the thrill of live orchestral music should be accessible to everyone, so we aim to keep the price of concert tickets as fair as possible. However, even if a performance were completely sold out, we would not cover the presentation costs. We are indebted to everyone acknowledged here who gives philanthropic gifts to the SCO of £300 or greater each year, as well as those who prefer to remain anonymous. We are also incredibly thankful to the many individuals not listed who are kind enough to support the Orchestra financially, whether that is regularly or on an ad hoc basis. Every single donation makes a difference and we are truly grateful. Become a regular donor, from as little as £5 a month, by contacting Mary Clayton on 0131 478 8369 or mary.clayton@sco.org.uk
Thank You
PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR'S CIRCLE ––––– Our Principal Conductor’s Circle is made up of individuals who share the SCO’s vision to bring the joy of music to as many people as possible. These individuals are a special part of our musical family, and their commitment and generosity benefit us all – musicians, audiences and creative learning participants alike. We would like to extend our grateful thanks to them for playing such a key part in the future of the SCO. American Development Fund Erik Lars Hansen and Vanessa C L Chang Kenneth and Martha Barker Creative Learning Fund Claire and Mark Urquhart David and Maria Cumming International Touring Fund Gavin and Kate Gemmell
Visiting Artists Fund Colin and Sue Buchan Claire and Anthony Tait Anne and Matthew Richards Productions Fund The Usher Family Annual Fund James and Patricia Cook Dr Caroline N Hahn
CHAIR SPONSORS Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen Donald and Louise MacDonald
Sub-Principal Double Bass Adrian Bornet Jo and Alison Elliot
Chorus Director Gregory Batsleer Anne McFarlane
Principal Flute André Cebrián Claire and Mark Urquhart
Viola Steve King Sir Ewan and Lady Brown
Principal Oboe Robin Williams Hedley G Wright
Principal Cello Philip Higham The Thomas Family
Principal Clarinet Maximiliano Martín Stuart and Alison Paul
Cello Donald Gillan Professor Sue Lightman
Principal Timpani Louise Goodwin Geoff and Mary Ball
Cello Eric de Wit Jasmine Macquaker Charitable Fund
Our Musicians
YOUR ORCHESTRA First Violin Hugo Ticciati* Ruth Crouch Adela Bratu Kana Kawashima Aisling O’Dea Siún Milne Amira Bedrush-McDonald Tom Hankey Second Violin Elizabeth Wexler Gordon Bragg Sara Molina Rachel Spencer Niamh Lyons Gongbo Jiang Viola Fiona Winning Jessica Beeston Brian Schiele Steve King Cello Su-a Lee Christian Elliott Christoff Fourie Eric de Wit Bass Nikita Naumov Adrian Bornet
Information correct at the time of going to print
Flute André Cebrián Lee Holland Oboe Fraser Kelman Nicola Hands Clarinet Maximiliano Martín William Stafford Bassoon Cerys Ambrose-Evans Alison Green Horn Patrick Broderick Harry Johnstone Trumpet Peter Franks Shaun Harrold
* Sadly, due to family circumstances Pekka Kuusisto will no longer be able to join the SCO for his planned Residency in March. Pekka was due to direct/perform three programmes with the Orchestra: New York Counterpoint (6 Mar), Seek The Light (10/11 Mar) and America, The Beautiful (16/17/18 Mar). Our thoughts are with Pekka and his family at this difficult time. We are grateful that violinist/director Hugo Ticciati has agreed to step in for Pekka for the entirety of the Residency. Hugo is an acclaimed violinist, leader and conductor and has a huge passion for contemporary, non-western and traditional music alike and we hugely appreciate him joining us for these three exciting projects at such short notice.
Trombone Simon Johnson Chris Mansfield Timpani Louise Goodwin Percussion Kate Openshaw Colin Hyson Piano/ Keyboard Simon Smith Harp Zuzanna Olbryś
Siún Milne First Violin
W H AT YO U ARE ABOUT TO HEAR Glass (b 1937) Symphony No 3 (1995) I II III IV
Stravinsky (1882-1971) Concerto in E flat 'Dumbarton Oaks' (1937–38) Tempo giusto Allegretto Con moto
Barber (1910-1981) Adagio for Strings (1936) Copland (1900-1990) Appalachian Spring: Suite (1943–44) Very slowly Allegro Moderato Quite fast Subito allegro Meno mosso Doppio movimento Moderato - Coda
––––– What makes music American? A simple answer, of course, is that it’s music written by an American composer. But that’s a bit of a cop-out. Is there something within the music itself that can bestow a particular nationality upon it? Something about its harmonies, its textures, its form and shape, or even its spirit and mood? It’s a vexed question – along with anything that attempts to assign attributes of race, gender, nationality or anything else to art. And yet it’s a question that’s perplexed composers and thinkers – many of them American – for decades. And it’s a particular issue in American music, for the simple reason that classical music as we know it is pretty much a European invention, with threads of professional, amateur, court and church performances slowly winding together in 19th-century concert halls and recital salons to provide us with the concert-going culture we know today. There’s long been a question of how to weave something distinctively American from those strands, so that US music is more than simply an import of European manners and heritage. You could reasonably argue that with the advent of minimalism in the 1960s and 1970s, America found an answer in a style whose guiding principles came naturally from free-thinking US experimentalism rather than from the inward-looking intricacies of the European avant-garde (as we’ll hear in tonight’s first piece). Looking more broadly, jazz and rock, too, are styles with their roots embedded firmly in the rich soil of the USA. But from the early 20th century, many American composers actively looked for what might make their own music
What Glass produced is orchestral chamber music in its truest sense, challenging its players’ ensemble skills while also showcasing many of them as soloists. Philip Glass
distinctive. Aaron Copland and Roger Sessions held an influential set of concerts in New York from 1928 to 1931 with the
the world, and its patterns and repetitions have infiltrated the music of even many hardcore avant-garde composers,
principal aim of discovering and promoting new US music. Pianist and arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge had similar intentions in endowing a foundation at the Library of Congress to commission and perform new works by US composers – one of which was Copland’s Appalachian Spring, in 1944, which closes tonight’s concert. Even Leonard Bernstein cared so much about the issue that he devoted the second of his famous Young People’s Concerts to asking ‘What is American music?’ (it comes second only to the most fundamental question of them all, ‘What does music mean?’).
minimalism is a distinctively American invention. The hypnotic 1964 In C by Californian free-thinking experimentalist Terry Riley is usually cited as the first defining minimalist work, and erstwhile colleagues and collaborators Philip Glass and Steve Reich established and developed its central ideas across on the East Coast in the 1960s and 1970s, and through to the present day.
One – admittedly partial – answer to Bernstein’s question might be: minimalism.
Mention the term – which many composers dubbed ‘minimalists’ are far from comfortable with, by the way – and you may immediately think of endless, unchanging repetitions. Those are certainly present in Riley’s In C (amid an ever-changing tapestry of overlapping melodies), and in
Though its influence has spread right across
the early music of Glass – take the rhythmic
table-top tapping of 1+1, for example, or the luscious, hours-long ruminations of Music in Twelve Parts. But by 1995, when Glass came to write his Symphony No 3, which opens tonight’s concert, things had moved on. The distinctive undulating textures and gradually developing structures that had given his earlier music such an unmistakable character are still in place. But now his harmonies change far more rapidly, he’s far more comfortable embracing dissonance, and he steps back willingly from rigid repetitions. Glass wrote the Symphony for the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, to a commission that stipulated it should exploit the ensemble’s 19 string players as individual musicians, rather than as a homogenous group. What Glass produced is orchestral chamber music in its truest sense, challenging its players’ ensemble skills while also showcasing many of them as soloists. Glass has written no fewer than 12 symphonies to date, and they all defy more traditional expectations of what a piece of music with that designation should be. If you’re looking for profound Beethovenian conflicts between opposing themes, keys or moods, you’ll probably be somewhat disappointed. Instead, at least in his Third Symphony, Glass offers subtly shifting textures, variations in rhythm and pacing, ideas that seem never to evolve but likewise never stay the same.
unison melody, before developing an almost Bartók-like richness as it grows in complexity, with an all-pizzicato section leading into a new, darker melodic idea with an almost Middle Eastern feel. Glass’s long third movement is a chaconne, built around a repeating series of harmonies introduced at the beginning, growing ever more complex in Baroque-style decoration until a solo violin launches a high, ecstatic melody. The energetic final movement takes us back to the dashing rhythms of the second, before swerving sideways at the last minute for a subdued ending. There is, you might think, nothing much American about tonight’s second piece, Stravinsky’s Concerto in E flat, named ‘Dumbarton Oaks’. But at least in its genesis, it’s American through and through. Former US diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his art collector wife Mildred Barnes acquired a historic estate in Washington, DC, in 1920, hiring an architect to remodel and enlarge the mansion, which they named Dumbarton Oaks. (They bequeathed it to Harvard University in 1940, an institution it still forms part of, and it even hosted the 1944 conference that laid the groundwork for what would become the United Nations.)
The brief opening movement acts as what Glass calls ‘a prelude to movements two and three, which are the main body of the symphony’, contrasting pulsing harmonies with increasingly dissonant rising scales. The faster, more aggressive
Bliss and Barnes were wealthy and generous supporters of the arts, and had met Stravinsky in 1937, when he’d visited the US to conduct the premiere of his ballet Jeu de cartes. That year was the couple’s 30th wedding anniversary, and they requested a new work from Stravinsky to celebrate the occasion. What the composer came up with – after a lengthy immersion in the music of Bach, he said – is a piece that melds the Baroque and the contemporary,
second movement begins as a bounding
clothing Stravinsky’s unmistakable
Igor Stravinsky
rhythmic and harmonic quirks into the formal garb of a Baroque concerto grosso, albeit one whose soloists are constantly shifting, so that almost all of the work’s 15 players gets their moment in the spotlight. 'Dumbarton Oaks', as it’s universally called, is an intimate, witty work that has all the bustle of a Baroque concerto, even if its repeating basslines, its shifting rhythms and its stuttering syncopations are pure Stravinsky. In three short movements, joined together by slow, chordal passages, it progresses from a bustling opening to a graceful second movement, ending with a finale whose determined tread slowly morphs into something far more buoyant.
There is, you might think, nothing much American about tonight’s second piece, Stravinsky’s Concerto in E flat, named ‘Dumbarton Oaks’. But at least in its genesis, it’s American through and through.
to Massachusetts, and finally settled in Hollywood in 1941. He became a naturalised US citizen in 1945. There can be few more famous pieces of American music than Samuel Barber’s Adagio, dubbed the ‘world’s saddest music’, and indeed indelibly associated with moments of great emotion and upheaval. It was played at the funerals of Franklin D Roosevelt, Albert Einstein and Grace Kelly (among many others), and Jackie Kennedy arranged for Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra to play it to an empty hall following the assassination of her husband in 1963, a recording of which became the unofficial anthem of the nation’s grief during the following weeks.
'Dumbarton Oaks' has another claim to being an (almost) American work. Just a year after its premiere, Stravinsky
It began life, however, and of course still exists as the slow movement of Barber’s
moved from Paris to New York, then
Op 11 String Quartet, where it separates
There can be few more famous pieces of American music than Samuel Barber’s Adagio, dubbed the ‘world’s saddest music’, and indeed indelibly associated with moments of great emotion and upheaval. Samuel Barber
two outer movements of great energy and complexity. It was conductor Arturo Toscanini who thought the Adagio would make a fine orchestral work, requesting one from the 26-year-old composer, and premiering it with the National Symphony Orchestra on a radio broadcast in 1938. In an America still reeling from the Great Depression, and with Europe hurtling ever closer to war, the heart-on-sleeve emotion of Barber’s Adagio came at just the right moment to capture and console the public consciousness.
style from the late 1930s, in music that he hoped would speak directly to listeners, and celebrate the best of American history and values. Just think of the stirring Fanfare for a Common Man (which makes a reappearance in the finale of his questing Third Symphony), or the hijinks of Billy the Kid or Rodeo, or indeed the touching nobility of his Lincoln Portrait.
With Copland’s Appalachian Spring, however, we return to our opening question. Following studies in Paris with the influential Nadia Boulanger, Copland had explored an angular, dissonant modernism earlier in his career, but guided by his social conscience, turned towards a simpler, more
Most famous of the lot, however, is Appalachian Spring, which Copland wrote in 1943 and 1944 following a request from choreographer and dancer Martha Graham in 1942 for a ballet ‘with an American theme’. Her idea for a scenario couldn’t have been simpler: a rural Pennsylvania community, two young newlyweds, a visiting preacher, and a few wise lessons dispensed by an older settler. It’s a generic-sounding story in which
direct and more immediately accessible
hardly anything happens, with characters
Most famous of the lot, however, is Appalachian Spring, which Copland wrote in 1943 and 1944 following a request from choreographer and dancer Martha Graham in 1942 for a ballet ‘with an American theme’. Aaron Copland
that are little more than archetypes. And yet Appalachian Spring conjures a truly moving parable about American values, pioneers conquering a new land, strength, determination and resilience. The work received its final title only shortly prior to its premiere, before which time Copland had simply called it ‘Ballet for Martha’, which remains its subtitle. And that last-minute naming inadvertently caused a couple of ironies. Copland admitted to being amused later in life when commentators remarked on how well he’d captured the Appalachians in springtime. Yes, there’s plenty of freshness and a sense of promise and new life in his music, but the ‘spring’ of the title actually refers to a source of water: Graham took the title from a poem by Hart Crane that clearly refers to ‘wat’ry webs of upper flows’. And Copland also admitted to a certain regret at
including the score’s most famous tune, the Shaker hymn ‘Simple Gifts’ (probably better known to Brits as ‘Lord of the Dance’). He explained: ‘My research evidently was not very thorough, since I did not realise that there have never been Shaker settlements in rural Pennsylvania!’ He was aware, too, that his music’s simplicity and sincerity may end up tipping over into empty nostalgia or even mawkishness, writing late in his life: ‘I have often admonished orchestras, professional and otherwise, not to get too sweet or too sentimental with it.’ Nevertheless, with its wide-open sounds, its hope, expectation and childlike joy, Appalachian Spring is one of classical music’s rare works of unfettered optimism – which itself is surely a spirit that captures the best of America. © David Kettle
Director / Violin HUGO T I C C I AT I
––––– As violinist, leader and conductor, Hugo Ticciati imbibes all possible forms of creativity, whether it be performing world premieres in the most prestigious venues around the world, improvising with monks in India, or devising innovative programmes for O/Modernt Orchestra and Festival which he founded in 2011. Alongside his passion to discover and learn from the music of previous epochs and non-western traditions, Hugo embraces the world of contemporary music. To date, over forty works have been written for and dedicated to him by a host of eminent composers, including Erkki-Sven Tüür, Pēteris Vasks, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Albert Schnelzer and Dobrinka Tabakova. Being the Artistic Director of O/Modernt Orchestra, Hugo collaborates regularly with Kremerata Baltica, Manchester Camerata, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra da Camera di Perugia. Most recently, he has been invited to work with Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Gaining a growing reputation for his innovative and adventurous programming, Hugo is frequently asked to devise and present concerts and festivals with a unique twist. This has led to ongoing collaborations with Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London. Pursuing his passion for chamber music, Hugo has developed special artistic partnerships with members of the O/Modernt Soloists as well as other internationally renowned artists, notably Evelyn Glennie, Anne Sofie von Otter, Nils Landgren, Steven Isserlis, Angela Hewitt and Olli Mustonen. Hugo frequently gives master-classes and lectures on music-related subjects both at Scandinavia’s leading specialist music school Lilla Akademien, where he holds the post of Deputy Artistic Director, and other educational institutions around the world.
Kindly supported by
Donald and Louise MacDonald
Maxim Emelyanychev Conductor / Piano
MAXIM’S MOZART 24 - 26 Mar, 7.30pm Edinburgh | Glasgow | Aberdeen
18 and Under FREE
SCO.ORG.UK Company Registration Number: SC075079. A charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039.
BE PART OF OUR FUTURE A warm welcome to everyone who has recently joined our family of donors, and a big thank you to everyone who is helping to secure our future. Monthly or annual contributions from our donors make a real difference to the SCO’s ability to budget and plan ahead with more confidence. In these extraordinarily challenging times, your support is more valuable than ever. For more information on how you can become a regular donor, please get in touch with Mary Clayton on 0131 478 8369 or email mary.clayton@sco.org.uk.
SCO.ORG.UK/SUPPORT-US The SCO is a charity registered in Scotland No SC015039.