Edinburgh Concert Season 2019/20 by Scottish Chamber Orchestra

EDINBURGH CONCERT SEASON 2019/2020 SCO.ORG.UK

A WARM WELCOME

EDINBURGH CONCERT SEASON 2019/2020 It is with great anticipation that we welcome Maxim Emelyanychev to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and look forward to his opening concerts as our new Principal Conductor. From the start of his first rehearsal with the Orchestra back in March 2018, it was clear that Maxim is a very special musician indeed. Already, he has created a remarkable bond with musicians and audiences alike, and we are hugely excited to be embarking on our musical journey together. This Season we celebrate several significant anniversaries. In 2020, it will be 250 years since the birth of one of the greatest composers – Ludwig van Beethoven. We present all nine of his symphonies over four separate programmes, conducted by three of his most insightful interpreters – Maxim Emelyanychev, our Principal Guest Conductor Emmanuel Krivine and Andrew Manze. In 1979, the SCO gave its first concerts in the newlyopened Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh. We celebrate 40 years of music-making in this much-loved venue with a beautiful programme of Haydn, Mozart and Schumann, directed by a great and longstanding friend of the Orchestra, pianist Piotr Anderszewski, who as it happens, will also be marking his own 50th birthday! It is 10 years since Gregory Batsleer became Director of the SCO Chorus. Celebrating this wonderful partnership, Greg leads both Orchestra and Chorus in a programme of music by Haydn and Stravinsky, which also features one of our two Leaders, Stephanie Gonley, in Bach’s glorious Violin Concerto in A minor.

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Later in the Season our other Leader, Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, joins forces with Principal Cello Philip Higham and Guest Director Kristian Bezuidenhout to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Completing our lineup of SCO soloists, Principal Double Bass Nikita Naumov presents a new concerto by Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös. This Season’s Featured Artist, Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto, is truly a musical chameleon. He has a fresh, engaging performance style, as well as natural skills as an improviser. Across three concerts, Pekka brings a fresh approach to Bach, Haydn and Beethoven, directs a performance of Sibelius Symphony No 5, and introduces us to a gifted cohort of contemporary composers: Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner (from the American indie rock band The National) and newly-appointed SCO Associate Composer Anna Clyne. As always, we showcase the very best of Scotland’s most distinguished international artists. There is a welcome return by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill with songs by ‘a talent kept quiet’, Alma Mahler, a new concerto by Helen Grime for percussionist Colin Currie, and a ‘double bill’ with Nicola Benedetti featuring Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with violist Lawrence Power. Welcome to our new Season! Gavin Reid Chief Executive Scottish Chamber Orchestra

A WARM WELCOME

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019 TO MAY 2020 LELEUX CONDUCTS DVOŘÁK AND BRAHMS 9 — BACH AND SIBELIUS WITH PEKKA KUUSISTO 10 — MOZART REQUIEM WITH SCO CHORUS 11 — ANDERSZEWSKI PLAYS HAYDN AND SCHUMANN 12 — BOHEMIAN RHAPSODIES 12 — MOZART, HAYDN AND CLYNE 13 — MAXIM CONDUCTS MOZART’S ‘JUPITER’ 16 — BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 1 & 3 17 — CHAMBER SUNDAY WITH SCO WIND SOLOISTS 17 — HAYDN’S HARMONY MASS WITH SCO CHORUS 19 — BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 2, 4 & 5 20 — SCO CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT 21 — NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT 21 — BAROQUE DANCES WITH MAXIM 22 — ALMA & GUSTAV MAHLER 24 — FAMILY CONCERT: STAN AND MABEL AND THE RACE FOR SPACE 24

ALTSTAEDT PLAYS SHOSTAKOVICH CELLO CONCERTO — CHAMBER SUNDAY WITH BEZUIDENHOUT — BEETHOVEN TRIPLE CONCERTO — BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 6 & 7 — BENEDETTI PLAYS MENDELSSOHN AND MOZART — NIKITA NAUMOV PLAYS EÖTVÖS DOUBLE BASS CONCERTO — VIVALDI GLORIA WITH SCO CHORUS — CHAMBER SUNDAY WITH MAXIM — THE MAGIC HARP — VOYAGE THROUGH AMERICA WITH PEKKA KUUSISTO — MAXIM DIRECTS MOZART PIANO CONCERTO No 20 — LELEUX CONDUCTS MENDELSSOHN’S ‘SCOTTISH’ — BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 8 & 9 ‘CHORAL’

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Additional Event (Chamber Sundays, Chorus Concert, Family Concert and New Year Concert) Pre-Concert Insights

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François Leleux Season Opening Concert

Pekka Kuusisto Featured Artist

Maxim Emelyanychev Principal Conductor

MY INTENTION IS TO CONTINUE THE TREND OF COMBINING PERIOD AND MODERN INSTRUMENTS WITH THE SCO TO CREATE A VERY SPECIAL, BLENDED SOUND. — Maxim Emelyanychev Principal Conductor

18 Gregory Batsleer 10th Anniversary as SCO Chorus Director

29 Nicola Benedetti Scotland’s favourite violinist

INTRODUCING MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

On behalf of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, it is wonderful to invite you to our 2019/20 Season. I am very happy to be Principal Conductor, and am greatly inspired by the two SCO productions I have been involved with so far, making fantastic collaborations with these excellent musicians. In this, my first full Season, we present you with a variety of interesting things – a set of diverse programmes from Baroque times to modern music written just a few years ago. The programmes also represent music from various countries, showing off the many different genres and styles of the SCO. My first programme contains music from my homeland, Russia – we play Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto with the extraordinary Carolin Widmann. The next is a majestic French and German Baroque dance programme with the inclusion of Turkish band instruments in Lully’s comedy-ballet Le Bourgeois gentilhomme – a very interesting listen! My intention is to continue the trend of combining period and modern instruments with the SCO to create a very special, blended sound. This will be experienced especially in our Vivaldi programme which includes theorbos, mandolins, tromba marina, chalumeaux, recorders and harpsichord in the Concerto con molti stromenti. As in olden times, I will lead from the harpsichord.

Together with the impressive SCO Chorus, we performed Haydn in 2018, and all the rehearsals and performances were different – there was lots of improvisation going on so it was like creating ‘live art’! I congratulate Chorus Director Gregory Batsleer on his 10 years with the Chorus so far, and wish him “only crescendo”! It is a real privilege to perform music with the Chorus. Beethoven, like Bach and Mozart, is a composer who you can describe in many different ways, and they are personal to you. When you listen to Beethoven, whether for the first time or the fiftieth time, you always hear something different. This is why it is important to play his music in a cycle, and for you to hear it in this way. Our cycle will mean different things to you at different moments in time. Every performance is unique. You can hear each symphony twice (each programme is repeated in Glasgow) for an even more complete experience! The Season is opened by François Leleux. He is one of my favourite artists – a fantastic musician and such a great performer. His music has a sophisticated air that he shares with the audience – I love his music-making so much. I would love to be at all the concerts in the SCO Season, to listen with all of you, but that is not possible for me! Please be my ears and tell me what you think. I hope you enjoy all the surprises we have in store for you this Season!

AN ORCHESTRA IS LIKE A FAMILY, LIKE A SMALL CHAMBER GROUP. WITH THE SCO THIS IS ALL JUST SO EASY. THERE IS A FANTASTIC PERSONAL FEELING ABOUT THIS GROUP. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Maxim Emelyanychev

25Oth CELEBRATION

BEETHOVEN THE PINNACLE OF WESTERN MUSIC-MAKING Could you introduce a friend to the seemingly infinite world of inspiration and imagination that is classical music? You may remember the days of curating a mixtape for someone, or perhaps you now share digital playlists. This Season, go the extra step and introduce them to a Beethoven Symphony! They may ask you, ”why?” The answer is simple. Music is music, and Beethoven’s music represents a pinnacle, if not the pinnacle of Western musical thought. No other classical composer has more definitively embedded his or her music into the collective unconscious as has Beethoven. He is the cultural equivalent of St. Augustine in religion and philosophy, Newton in science, and Shakespeare in literature. Beethoven holds a greater place in music history than many other artists and his name, when spoken or heard, is never misunderstood for anything other than greatness and careful, thoughtful creativity.

THE SCO PLAYS WITH TOTAL CONVICTION, AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL MEANS THAT INNER PARTS DO MUCH TO ENERGIZE THE MUSIC, TO LIGHT IT UP FROM WITHIN… AN IMMEDIACY AND SHEER MUSICALITY THAT IS ENTHRALLING.

Beethoven also shows how music inspires humankind to the values that we all aspire to. His masterpieces have played an integral role in uprisings and social reforms from Tiananmen Square in China to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. The work has drowned out oppressors, revitalised protesters, and inspired musicians.

— International Record Review, Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies

Those who simply want to revisit these works time and again, find new meaning each time they hear them. We celebrate Beethoven’s 250 years with a complete Symphony Cycle, as well as a special event Born This Way: Music and Wellbeing. With panel discussions, performances and interactive sessions, this event will explore how Beethoven’s musical creativity flourished despite the torment of his physical and mental decline.

2019/2020 Beethoven Symphony Cycle — Symphonies Nos 1 & 3 Emmanuel Krivine – p17 Symphonies Nos 2, 4 & 5 Andrew Manze – p20 Symphonies Nos 6 & 7 Maxim Emelyanychev – p28 Symphonies Nos 8 & 9 Emmanuel Krivine – p35 — Born This Way: Music and Wellbeing More information at www.sco.org.uk/bornthisway

LELEUX CONDUCTS DVOŘÁK AND BRAHMS

Pekka Kuusisto An per ferri dictapurto et eam, vim dolor

PLAYED BY JAVIER PERIANES

PLAYING FOR AND ALONGSIDE FRANÇOIS LELEUX IS AN EXHILARATING EXPERIENCE. THE INTENSITY OF HIS ENERGY AND HIS MERCURIAL PLAYING GIVE RISE TO SOME BEGUILING, UNMISSABLE PERFORMANCES. — Rosie Staniforth SCO Sub-Principal Oboe

— Proudly sponsored and match funded by

— Thursday 26 September 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture (9’) DVOŘÁK Symphony No 7 (35’) François Leleux

BRAHMS Piano Concerto No 1 (44’) — FRANÇOIS LELEUX – Conductor JAVIER PERIANES – Piano To open the 2019/20 Season, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra welcomes the 2019 International Classical Music Awards ‘Artist of the Year’ Javier Perianes, performing one of the great pillars of the Romantic repertoire, Brahms’ First Piano Concerto. A huge clap of D minor thunder arrests your attention from the outset, before you are transported into a world of dance. Javier Perianes learned his trade from the likes of Daniel Barenboim, Richard Goode and Alicia de Larrocha, and made a remarkable debut with the SCO in 2017, stepping in as a last minute substitute in Schumann’s Piano Concerto. Dvořák’s highly dramatic, and at times tempestuous, Seventh Symphony owes stylistic debt to his great friend Brahms (and is boldly described by Classic FM as “Dvořák’s greatest symphony”). Conductor François Leleux is a remarkable musician who knows just how to draw wonderful, sensitive playing from the Orchestra.

Javier Perianes 2019 International Classical Music Awards ‘Artist of the Year’ 9

BACH AND SIBELIUS WITH PEKKA KUUSISTO

Pekka Kuusisto This Season’s Featured Artist

— Thursday 3 October 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm BACH Brandenburg Concerto No 3, BWV 1048 (10’) HILLBORG Bach Materia (25’) BACH Partita in E major, BWV 1006 (5’) SIBELIUS Symphony No 5 (30’) — PEKKA KUUSISTO – Director / Violin Few soloists could lead an entire, packed Royal Albert Hall to join in their encore, but violinist Pekka Kuusisto is one of a kind – a free spirit who charms, thrills and astonishes you with music you know well and pieces you have never heard before. Here, Bach’s concerto is a launch pad for Hillborg’s new piece: snatches of the Brandenburg send Pekka and the Orchestra freewheeling in different directions to create excitement and ravishing beauty. After the interval, Pekka turns to his native Finland, and Sibelius’ majestic and deeply personal response to nature. Join them for the ride and expect the unexpected: you won’t be disappointed!

Next Pekka Kuusisto Concert

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We are thrilled that Pekka Kuusisto is our Featured Artist this Season. It seems to me that he has a way of opening musical doors that are often not so immediately visible to others. What he can produce, in terms of tonal range, atmosphere, gesture, a sense of theatre, is so out of the ordinary for many, that people are compelled to listen in a new way. — Philip Higham SCO Principal Cello

THERE’S NOT AN INCH OF FORMALITY TO HIS PLAYING: PEKKA KUUSISTO MIGHT AS WELL HAVE WANDERED AROUND THE HALL AND WHISPERED. — The Guardian

Thursday 10 October 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm — Proudly sponsored by

MOZART REQUIEM WITH SCO CHORUS THE NIGHT BELONGED TO THE SCO CHORUS FOR ITS SHATTERING AND PROFOUNDLY MOVING PERFORMANCE OF MOZART’S REQUIEM. The Herald

MOZART Symphony No 1 in E-flat, K16 (13’) Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K546 (9’) Masonic Funeral Music, K477 (6’) Requiem in D minor, K626 (Süssmayr Edition) (55’) — KLAUS MÄKELÄ – Conductor SIMONE KERMES – Soprano HANNA HIPP – Mezzo-Soprano MARKUS BRUTSCHER – Tenor MARKUS SUIHKONEN – Bass — SCO Chorus GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director

Here is a portrait of Mozart the genius, boy and man – from a joyous symphony written when he was just eight years old, to the profound Requiem that he left unfinished at his death. Meet him as he measures up to his idol, JS Bach in the Adagio and Fugue, and as a solemn freemason in the Maurerische Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music). This concert is also a chance to meet an extraordinary young talent from Finland: the conductor Klaus Mäkelä. Still in his early 20s, he is already in high demand and has a string of prestigious appointments to his name. Come and hear what all the excitement is about!

ANDERSZEWSKI PLAYS HAYDN AND SCHUMANN PLAYED AND DIRECTED BY PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI & ALEXANDER JANICZEK — Proudly sponsored by

— Thursday 24 October 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm MOZART Symphony No 36 ‘Linz’, K425 (26’) HAYDN Keyboard Concerto in D, Hob XVIII (18’) SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A minor (32’) — PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI – Director / Piano ALEXANDER JANICZEK – Director / Violin A double celebration! As we toast Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall in its 40th year, one of Mozart’s most festive symphonies opens the evening with a flourish. Pianist Piotr Anderszewski marks his 50th birthday with a pair of magnificent piano concertos. Haydn is in high spirits throughout his concerto – he opens with the kind of tune that puts a spring in your step, and closes in Hungarian style, with a brilliant tour de force, flashing with fireworks. In contrast, Schumann’s is perhaps the most poetic of all piano concertos: a searching, passionate, Romantic masterpiece.

ANDERSZEWSKI’S PERFORMANCE OF THE HAYDN TRANSFORMED IT FROM A STANDARD EXAMPLE OF 18TH-CENTURY CLASSICISM INTO A PIECE OF ENGAGING ELEGANCE AND WIT. — The Guardian

Stephanie Gonley SCO Leader

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODIES CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH SWENSEN — Kindly supported by Donald and Louise MacDonald — Thursday 31 October 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm SUK Serenade for Strings in E-Flat (30’) JANÁČEK The Fiddler’s Child (12’) DVOŘÁK Symphony No 5 (36’) — JOSEPH SWENSEN – Conductor STEPHANIE GONLEY – Violin Here are three people, all good friends, who just happen also to be amongst their nation’s foremost composers. This evening of Bohemian music is full of variety. The story goes that Dvořák criticised Suk for being too sombre, and encouraged him to lighten up – Suk responded by writing his Serenade and it became his most popular work. In contrast, Janáček’s Fiddler’s Child is like a whole dramatic opera condensed into 12 minutes – a brooding, tragic ghost story told by violin and orchestra. Swensen closes the evening with Dvořák’s sunny symphony: tuneful, spirited, uplifting music.

Thursday 7 November 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm

MOZART, HAYDN & CLYNE DIRECTED BY PEKKA KUUSISTO SCO LEADER BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE PARTNERS THE FREE-SPIRITED FINN PEKKA KUUSISTO IN THE GRAMMY-NOMINATED DOUBLE VIOLIN CONCERTO PRINCE OF CLOUDS BY SCO ASSOCIATE COMPOSER ANNA CLYNE.

BEETHOVEN Prometheus Overture (5’) CLYNE Prince of Clouds (14’) MOZART Divertimento in D, K136 (13’) CLYNE New Work World Premiere (15’) (Co-commissioned by SCO and Orchestre National de Lyon) HAYDN Symphony No 60 ‘Il Distratto’ (24’) — PEKKA KUUSISTO – Director / Violin BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin

How many symphonies could be called genuinely funny? Well, at least one: Haydn’s 60th started life in the theatre as the score for a comedy and it is packed full of gags: a great chance for Pekka Kuusisto to share his own irresistible sense of humour. SCO Associate Composer Anna Clyne may add her own comedic touches as her new piece is inspired by the Haydn. If so, it should contrast beautifully with her Prince of Clouds, a beautifully touching Double Violin Concerto, full of ravishing, glistening string writing. — COMPOSER INSIGHTS: 6.45pm Associate Composer Anna Clyne discusses her new work and Prince of Clouds.

Next Pekka Kuusisto Concert

Benjamin Marquise Gilmore SCO Leader 13

INTRODUCING ANNA CLYNE ASSOCIATE COMPOSER SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA ANNA CLYNE JOINS A ROSTER OF ILLUSTRIOUS COMPOSERS WHO HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATES OF THE SCO, INCLUDING SALLY BEAMISH, MICHAEL BERKELEY, JAMES MACMILLAN, PETER MAXWELL DAVIES AND MARTIN SUCKLING.

Our new Associate Composer is the Grammynominated Anna Clyne. A music graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Anna’s work has been championed by many eminent conductors including Marin Alsop, Leonard Slatkin, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Riccardo Muti, who has described Anna as “an artist who writes from the heart” and “whose compositional voice speaks to a wide array of influences and culture.” Conductor Marin Alsop describes her versatility as “the mark of real talent, someone who can write a long-form piece that is deeply moving and then a right-between-the-eyes barn burner of a showpiece.”

Clyne was nominated for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her double Violin Concerto, Prince of Clouds. We present this work at the Queen’s Hall on 7 November 2019 alongside her first commission for the SCO. She is working closely with some of the musicians of the SCO to create soloist passages in the context of a larger orchestral work – a concerto for orchestra of sorts. Welcome Anna! Come and hear Anna Clyne — COMPOSER INSIGHTS: Thursday 7 November, 6.45pm Queen’s Hall followed by a performance of Prince of Clouds and her new work.

I AM THRILLED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE WONDERFUL MUSICIANS OF THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA. WE HAVE LOTS OF EXCITING PLANS INCLUDING DEVELOPING NEW CONTENT FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING CREATIVE LEARNING PROGRAMME. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Anna Clyne

Thursday 14 November 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm — Proudly sponsored by

MOZART ‘JUPITER’ SYMPHONY CONDUCTED BY MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV HAS AN INCREDIBLY MATURE UNDERSTANDING OF NOT JUST MUSIC, BUT CRUCIALLY, HOW TO GET A CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF THIS LEVEL TO USE ALL OF ITS VERY BEST ATTRIBUTES. Philip Higham, SCO Principal Cello

HERSANT Five Pieces for Orchestra UK Premiere (18’) PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No 2 (26’) MOZART Symphony No 41 ‘Jupiter’, K551 (29’) — MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV – Conductor CAROLIN WIDMANN – Violin

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Be among the first to welcome our new Principal Conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev! He explores many different styles and genres throughout his debut Season, starting with leading French film composer, Philippe Hersant. Maxim is joined by the fabulous, award-winning German violinist Carolin Widmann, who makes her SCO debut with Prokofiev’s much-loved Second Violin Concerto. Infused with graceful melodies equal to those in his popular Romeo and Juliet ballet music, it also boasts a nomadic charm that mixes traditional Russian folk music with Spanish and French accents. For contrast, Maxim completes his first concert as Principal Conductor with a celebratory bang – a dazzling display of musical fireworks and craftsmanship that is the culmination of Mozart’s final contribution to the symphonic repertoire, ‘Jupiter’.

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 1 & 3 CONDUCTED BY EMMANUEL KRIVINE — Thursday 21 November 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm BEETHOVEN Symphony No 1 (26’) Symphony No 3 ‘Eroica’ (47’) — EMMANUEL KRIVINE – Conductor In 1805, Beethoven broke the mould of the Classical symphony, unleashing a symphonic energy regarded as a turning point in musical history. Welcome to Symphony No 3 ‘Eroica’. It was twice as long as anything that had come before it, and remains a timeless favourite for its emphatic expression of triumph. Principal Guest Conductor Emmanuel Krivine opens our Beethoven Symphony Cycle with the First Symphony in which Mozart and Haydn’s influence on him, are on full display.

Emmanuel Krivine One of the world’s finest conductors

IT WAS THE MOST ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE – THE BEST BEETHOVEN I’VE HEARD (EVEN BEAT THE CONCERTGEBOUW IN MY BOOK). I LEFT FEELING LIKE I WAS WALKING ON AIR! — Audience member

Maximiliano Martín SCO Principal Clarinet

CHAMBER SUNDAY WITH SCO WIND SOLOISTS — Sunday 1 December 2019 Queen’s Hall – 3pm NIELSEN Wind Quintet, Op 43 (25’) SEIBER Serenade for Wind Sextet (10’) BRITTEN Movement for Wind Sextet (7’) STRAUSS Suite in B-flat, Op 4 (25’) — SCO Wind Soloists RCS Wind Students Two magnificent wind ensembles; four exhilarating masterpieces from the wind repertoire. The SCO’s own eminent Wind Soloists join forces with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s crack Wind Students for a much-anticipated afternoon of high spirits and playful charm. Nielsen’s striking Quintet; Seiber’s superbly conceived folk-like sextet for pairs of clarinets, bassoons and horns; Britten’s atmospheric movement for wind sextet written when he was still at school; and Strauss’ Suite combines all the forces with a nod towards the great orchestral wind writing later heard in his symphonic works.

Gregory Batsleer Celebrating 10 years as SCO Chorus Director â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Thursday 5 December 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm — Kindly supported by Anne McFarlane

HAYDN HARMONY MASS WITH SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER HAS THE SCO CHORUS OPERATING AS A LEAN, EFFICIENT MACHINE, CAPABLE OF VIGOUR TO MATCH THE PLAYERS, AND OF A VOLUME THAT DEFIES ITS COMPACT SIZE, AS WELL AS SINGING OF GREAT DELICACY. The Herald

STRAVINSKY Mass (18’) BACH Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 (14’) HAYDN Harmoniemesse (48’) — GREGORY BATSLEER – Conductor STEPHANIE GONLEY – Violin / Director MARY BEVAN – Soprano CATRIONA MORISON – Mezzo-Soprano THOMAS HOBBS – Tenor CALLUM THORPE – Bass — SCO Chorus

Stravinsky’s Mass is a poignant piece that demands a top-notch choir to sing it. In the 10 years since Gregory Batsleer became Chorus Director, the SCO Chorus has gone from strength to strength and tonight he celebrates his anniversary by conducting this special concert. Where Stravinsky is imposing, Haydn is grand and radiant: his mass was written shortly after his oratorio, ‘The Creation’, and it has the same hallmarks of great choral writing, wonderful instrumental cameos and a thrilling sweep to the finish. Between these monumental choral masterworks Stephanie Gonley plays and directs one of those marvellous pieces by Bach that you can never hear too often.

Gregory Batsleer SCO Chorus Director 19

Thursday 12 December 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 2, 4 & 5 CONDUCTED BY ANDREW MANZE FAMILIARITY IS A SIGN NOT OF ITS EXHAUSTION, BUT OF ITS ENDLESS POTENTIAL FOR RENEWAL. ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS KEEP THINKING, KEEP LISTENING, AND KEEP ALIVE THE POSSIBILITY TO BE STUNNED BY THIS SYMPHONY. Tom Service on Beethoven Symphony No 5

BEETHOVEN Symphony No 2 (32’) Symphony No 4 (34’) Symphony No 5 (31’) — ANDREW MANZE – Conductor

Da da da dum..! You will likely recognise the striking four notes that erupt from silence to begin Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No 5. Can you imagine the audience of its 1808 premiere performance hearing it for the first time? Conductor Andrew Manze unleashes these hammer-blow accents, before leading us through the single most famous musical journey from expressive minor-key darkness to astounding major-key light. The Fifth is performed alongside two of Beethoven’s least-played yet significant symphonies. Both the Second and Fourth have a joyful and humorous air – perhaps expressing the vitality that provided comfort to a composer confronted with deteriorating hearing.

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SCO CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT A ROSE IN WINTER — Thursday 19 December 2019 Greyfriars Kirk – 7.30pm Programme includes: SALLY BEAMISH In the Stillness MARGARET RIZZA Mary Slept JUDITH WEIR Drop down ye heavens KERRY ANDREW Hevene Quene CECILIA MCDOWALL Ave Regina ANTON BRUCKNER Locus Iste; Ave Maria; Virga Jesse PRAETORIUS arr SANDSTRÖM Es ist ein Ros entsprungen And music by Sweelinck, Kenneth Leighton and Sir James MacMillan as well as traditional Christmas carols. — BEN PARRY – Conductor SCO Chorus A must-do indulgence in Edinburgh’s festive calendar. This year, we welcome back former Chorus Director Ben Parry as Guest Director. Be sure to book early!

SCO Chorus The SCO Chorus is widely regarded as one of the finest orchestral choruses in the UK.

NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT — Wednesday 1 January 2020 Usher Hall – 3pm Programme to include: J STRAUSS II Overture, Die Fledermaus (9’) GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite No 1 (15’) NIELSEN Overture, Maskarade (5’) LUMBYE Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop (4’) Champagne Galop (3’) J STRAUSS II Roses from the South (7’) An der schönen, blauen Donau (9’) And songs by Lehár and Strauss — JOSEPH SWENSEN – Conductor HARRIET EYLEY – Soprano In keeping with tradition, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra offers a festive and light-hearted programme on the first of the year. Conductor Joseph Swensen is much loved by the Orchestra and audiences alike, and gives this year’s programme a Scandinavian twist with a smorgasbord of delights, including galops by Hans Christian Lumbye, as well as classic New Year favourites from, of course, the Strauss family!

JUST HAD A WONDERFUL AFTERNOON AT THE NEW YEAR’S CONCERT AT THE USHER HALL. I THINK IT WILL BE MY NEW YEAR’S TRADITION FROM NOW ON! — Audience member

— Collection in aid of

Thursday 16 January 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm — Proudly sponsored and match funded by

BAROQUE DANCES CONDUCTED BY MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV THE SCO COMPLEMENTED MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV’S BOLDNESS AND VIVACITY IN HIS INTERPRETATION, GIVING THE DARING TEMPOS AND DELICATE PASSAGES GREAT ATTENTION. Serenade Magazine

LULLY Suite, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (20’) RAMEAU Suite from Les Indes Galantes (20’) TELEMANN ‘Alster’ Overture Suite (30’) BACH Suite No 4 in D, BWV 1069 (20’) — MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV – Director / Harpsichord

Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev directs a packed programme of beautiful and fun-filled French and German Baroque music. First off, Versailles and the court of Louis XIV, for Jean-Baptiste Lully’s suite from his humorous opera-ballet Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. This is followed by the imaginative and sensual music of Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, then over to Germany as Maxim directs Telemann’s musical depiction of Alster Lake near Hamburg – complete with cannon fire, echoes, birds, frogs and merry-making peasants. Completing the concert is JS Bach’s Suite No 4 – a set of dance pieces in the French Baroque style.

Maxim Emelyanychev SCO Principal Conductor —

CONDUCTOR MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV MADE THE SUNKISSED SUMMERS AND STORMTOSSED WINTERS OF HAYDN’S THE SEASONS LEAP FROM THE PAGE. SCOTTISH MUSIC-LOVERS HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL IN STORE WHEN EMELYANYCHEV TAKES UP HIS APPOINTMENT AS PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR OF THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA. — The Times

ALMA & GUSTAV MAHLER SUNG BY KAREN CARGILL — Proudly sponsored by

— Thursday 30 January 2020 Usher Hall – 7.30pm MOZART Overture, Idomeneo (5’) ALMA MAHLER [arr COLIN & DAVID MATTHEWS] Seven Songs (20’) GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No 4 (54’) — MARK WIGGLESWORTH – Conductor KAREN CARGILL – Mezzo-Soprano The radiant Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill has long championed the songs of Alma Mahler alongside those of her more famous husband, Gustav. It is a miracle they exist at all since Mr Mahler insisted that Mrs should “devote yourself to me unconditionally”, and cease composing. Characteristically, she did not pursue her composing career in public. These orchestral versions showcase them alongside Gustav Mahler’s heavenly symphony, a piece he compared to “…the blue of the sky.” Saving the best until the last, Cargill completes the evening in the symphony’s touching, closing song – a child’s vision of heaven where angels bake the bread and St Peter fishes from a limitless pond. — COMPOSER INSIGHTS: 6.45PM Panel discussion on the life and music of Alma Mahler with Conductor Mark Wigglesworth, Author Cate Haste and SCO Creative Learning Director Kirsteen Davidson Kelly.

BEING HERE WITH THE SCO IS ALWAYS SUCH A PRIVILEGE, A PARTNERSHIP THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. — Karen Cargill

FAMILY CONCERT STAN AND MABEL AND THE RACE FOR SPACE — Proudly sponsored by

— Saturday 8 February 2020 Assembly Rooms – 12pm & 2.30pm RISSMANN Stan and Mabel and the Race for Space — CHRIS JARVIS – Narrator JASON CHAPMAN – Author / Illustrator Join the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the music-loving cat and dog duo Stan and Mabel for a fun-packed session of music and storytelling for the whole family. But watch out for a carnival of animals as they escape from the School for Wild and Dangerous Animals in search of a safe place to call their home! This concert is a sequel to our 2016 show Stan and Mabel and includes irresistibly catchy songs with actions, ideal for engaging young children in orchestral music, as well as firing up their imaginations. The concert is based on a brand-new illustrated story by Jason Chapman and original music by composer Paul Rissmann. Narrated by children’s TV presenter Chris Jarvis. Recommended for ages 4-10.

ALTSTAEDT PLAYS SHOSTAKOVICH

Kristian Bezuidenhout “Mozart is the most important musical figure in my life.”

CONDUCTED AND PLAYED BY NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT — Proudly sponsored and match funded by

— Thursday 20 February 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm BEETHOVEN Overture, Coriolan (8’) SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No 1 (28’) SCHUBERT Symphony No 4 in C minor ‘Tragic’ (31’) — NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT – Conductor / Cello It is jaw-dropping to watch the skill and physicality of Nicolas Altstaedt switching between playing the toughest solo cello parts and directing the orchestra, then turning back to his cello, and doing it all so superbly. Shostakovich’s spiky, brilliant concerto is a powerhouse work that makes the most of his dramatic side. It sounds spectacular but troubled, perhaps because beneath those notes lies a web of secret codes and references to Shostakovich’s merciless oppressor, Joseph Stalin. There is a heroism to it which finds echoes in Beethoven’s theatrical Overture and Schubert’s ‘Tragic’ Symphony. That title was well chosen… for the first 2 minutes at least: then it all gets considerably jollier!

THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN ALTSTAEDT AND THE SCO GELLED AS THEY PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS IN A CRACKING PERFORMANCE. THE RUMBLE OF TIMPANI, ELEGANT BASSOON LINES AND THE BASSES DRIVING THE BEAT WERE SUPERB. — The Scotsman

CHAMBER SUNDAY WITH KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT — Sunday 23 February 2020 Queen’s Hall – 3pm MOZART Piano Sonata No 10 in C, K330 (15’) BEETHOVEN Trio in C minor, Op 1 No 3 (25’) MOZART Piano Concerto in A, K414 (String Quintet version) (27’) — KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT – Fortepiano SCO STRING ENSEMBLE Fortepiano phenomenon Kristian Bezuidenhout joins us for a simply charming afternoon of relaxing chamber music. Alongside Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C and a Beethoven Trio, he plays an arrangement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A, which enhances the intricacies of Mozart’s string writing, and is an exemplary composition of happiness and divine grace.

I’VE LOVED BEETHOVEN’S TRIPLE CONCERTO SINCE I WAS A CHILD, SO IT’S A DREAM COME TRUE TO BE PLAYING IT WITH THE SCO – ESPECIALLY ALONGSIDE MY WONDERFUL COLLEAGUES, MESSRS GILMORE AND BEZUIDENHOUT. — Philip Higham SCO Principal Cello

Thursday 27 February 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm — Kindly supported by Colin and Sue Buchan

BEETHOVEN TRIPLE CONCERTO DIRECTED BY KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT IS AN IMPORTANT FIGURE OF A YOUNGER GENERATION OF EARLY MUSIC SPECIALISTS – AND ONE WITH WHOM THE PLAYERS OF THE SCO HAVE AN OBVIOUS RAPPORT. The Herald

HAYDN Symphony No 52 in C minor (25’) BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto (33’) MOZART Symphony No 38 ‘Prague’, K504 (30’) — KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT – Piano / Harpsichord / Conductor BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin PHILIP HIGHAM – Cello

Beethoven wrote more music for piano, violin and cello than for any other instruments – they truly were at the heart of his musical universe, which gives his Triple Concerto a special place among his works. Bezuidenhout is joined for it by two SCO Principals who are also distinguished soloists in their own right. The two symphonies he has chosen could not be more contrasted. The Haydn is stormy: it has been called “the grandfather of Beethoven’s Fifth“. Mozart’s ‘Prague’ also opens with thunder, but that soon yields to sunshine, high spirits and gorgeous song. — SCO PLATFORM: 6.45pm Performance by students from the City of Edinburgh Music School.

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 6 & 7 CONDUCTED BY MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV — Thursday 5 March 2020 Usher Hall – 7.30pm BEETHOVEN Symphony No 6 ‘Pastoral’ (39’) Symphony No 7 (36’) — MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV – Conductor Beethoven was a city dweller, a superstar in Vienna – where he was often acknowledged as the greatest composer in the world. However, it was the countryside that really set his troubled soul on fire, and his Sixth Symphony – originally titled ‘Recollections of Country Life’ – is an emphatic homage to the wonder and beauty of nature. Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev takes us on this elemental walk through the countryside, before turning to the bacchanal of the Seventh Symphony. The stirring melody and pulsating rhythm of its Allegretto movement – made famous in Colin Firth’s dramatic address in The King’s Speech – is closely followed by an alarmingly exuberant finale! — SCO PLATFORM: 6.45pm Performance by pupils from St Mary’s Music School.

THE SCO HAS AN AMAZING ENERGY … THE GROUP’S COMMITMENT TO GIVING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IS WHAT FORGES ITS CONNECTION WITH ITS AUDIENCES. — Benjamin Marquise Gilmore

Peter Franks SCO Principal Trumpet “We are looking forward to performing all of Beethoven’s Symphonies for you this Season, all on natural trumpet!”

Benjamin Marquise Gilmore SCO Leader

HOW GLAD I AM TO BE ABLE TO ROAM IN THE WOOD AND THICKET, AMONG TREES AND FLOWERS AND ROCKS... IN THE COUNTRY, EVERY TREE SEEMS TO SPEAK TO ME, SAYING, “HOLY! HOLY!”, IN THE WOODS, THERE IS ENCHANTMENT WHICH EXPRESSES ALL THINGS. — Ludwig van Beethoven

Thursday 12 March 2020 Usher Hall – 7.30pm — THE QUILTER CHEVIOT BENEDETTI SERIES

NICOLA BENEDETTI PLAYS

MENDELSSOHN AND MOZART MENDELSSOHN’S VIOLIN CONCERTO REQUIRES A VERY SPECIFIC KIND OF SOUND: LITHE, TRANSPARENT, PURE, ELEGANT, FINE-SPUN – ALL QUALITIES THAT BENEDETTI POSSESSES IN ABUNDANCE. BBC Music Magazine

MENDELSSOHN Sinfonia No 10 in B minor (11’) Violin Concerto (26’) MOZART Overture, La clemenza di Tito (5’) Sinfonia Concertante, K364 (30’) — NICOLA BENEDETTI – Violin / Director BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin / Director LAWRENCE POWER – Viola

Are there any stories in all music more tragic and inspiring than those of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn? Two child prodigies whose genius thrilled the world, who both died far too early. However, their music has lived on for a grateful world to enjoy ever since. They both wrote concertos that are among the perennial favourites of audiences everywhere. Nicola Benedetti plays both solo and duo (partnered by the superb viola player Lawrence Power) in an unmissable highlight of the Season. — SCO PLATFORM: 6.45pm Performance by students from the University of Edinburgh.

Nikita Naumov SCO Principal Double Bass

VIVALDI GLORIA WITH SCO CHORUS — Kindly supported by The Usher Family — Thursday 26 March 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm VIVALDI Concerto con molti stromenti, RV558 (10’) CORELLI Concerto Grosso No 11 in B-flat (10’) ZELENKA Miserere (16’)

NIKITA NAUMOV PLAYS EÖTVÖS DOUBLE BASS CONCERTO — Thursday 19 March 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta (27’) EÖTVÖS Double Bass Concerto ‘Aurora’ UK Premiere (c.20’) (Co-commissioned by the Karajan-Akademie Berlin, Tongyeong International Music Festival, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and SCO) HAYDN Symphony No 92 ‘Oxford’ (25’) — THOMAS ZEHETMAIR – Conductor NIKITA NAUMOV – Double Bass The double bass steps into the spotlight so rarely that a new concerto by one of Europe’s most distinguished composers is big news. Hot on the heels of its Berlin premiere the soloist is the Orchestra’s own, Nikita Naumov. Expect classic Hungarian passion, brilliant colour and fiery drama: a combination you also find in Bartók’s celebratory opening work. To close, Zehetmair directs a festive treat – the symphony Haydn performed to thank the city of Oxford for its hospitality. — COMPOSER INSIGHTS: 6.45pm Robert McFall discusses the influence of folk music in Hungarian music.

VIVALDI Concerto per la Solennità di San Lorenzo, RV562 (10’) Gloria (27’) — MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV – Conductor / Harpsichord ANNA DENNIS – Soprano MHAIRI LAWSON – Soprano JAMES HALL – Countertenor — SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER - Chorus Director Gloria! Vivaldi’s setting is one of music’s most uplifting choral works full of high drama and memorable tunes. Come and experience this dazzling piece alongside spectacular concerti featuring chalumeaux, theorbos, mandolins and the tromba marina (a member of the violin family). Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev continues the Baroque theme with Corelli’s B-flat Concerto, beautifully crafted with an exquisite violin solo, while emotion is at the heart of Zelenka’s Miserere. This concert promises edgeof-your-seat stuff from the first downbeat.

THE SINGERS’ TIRELESS DESIRE TO IMPROVE, AND TO DIG DEEPER INTO THE MUSIC WE PERFORM, IS INSPIRING AND IT IS A TRUE PRIVILEGE TO WORK WITH THE SCO CHORUS. — Gregory Batsleer

Maxim Emelyanychev “I’m really looking forward to playing my first Chamber Sunday concert!”

THE MAGIC HARP — Proudly sponsored by

— Thursday 2 April 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm WEBER Overture, Der Freischütz (10’) MOZART transcr DE MAISTRE Piano Concerto in F, K459 (28’)

CHAMBER SUNDAY — Sunday 29 March 2020 Queen’s Hall – 3pm MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV – Harpsichord / Piano A selection of our very own SCO Soloists join Maxim Emelyanychev for a fun afternoon of chamber music-making. The programme will be full of surprises!

OUR CHAMBER SUNDAY CONCERTS ALLOW AN EVEN CLOSER CONNECTION WITH THE MUSIC AND MUSIC-MAKERS.

TO BOOK ANY OF OUR ADDITIONAL CONCERTS, JUST ADD THEM TO YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.

SCHUBERT ed NEWBOULD Suite Die Zauberharfe UK Premiere (c.40’) — ANDREW MANZE – Conductor XAVIER DE MAISTRE – Harp Mozart’s Concerto in F major, K459, played on the harp? De Maistre’s transcription produces such a wide range of colour and dynamics so elegantly, that you may be quickly persuaded into thinking this an original harp concerto. The concert kicks off with another tenacious battle for good in the overture to Weber’s mystical opera about a hunter’s pact with the devil. After the interval, the UK Premiere of The Magic Harp, first performed in 1820! With the libretto now lost, Professor Brian Newbould has reconstructed the music into an orchestral suite packed with supernatural elements and melodrama.

Andrew Manze “Every time I hear the SCO I marvel at how these musicians find exactly the right sound and feel for each piece.”

VOYAGE THROUGH AMERICA WITH PEKKA KUUSISTO — Kindly supported by

SCO AMERICA — Thursday 23 April 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm STRAVINSKY Concerto in E-flat ‘Dumbarton Oaks’ (15’) MUHLY Violin Concerto, UK Premiere (20’) (Co-commissioned by SCO, ACO Collective, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and St Paul Chamber Orchestra) DESSNER Ornament and Crime (15’) BARBER Adagio for Strings (09’) COPLAND Appalachian Spring: Suite (23’) — PEKKA KUUSISTO – Director / Violin If a concert could be like a great American road trip, this would be it. You get to take in iconic American classics like Barber’s Adagio, as well as discovering exciting voices of the latest generation. Pekka Kuusisto brings fruits of his close musical relationships with two of the hippest, hottest and most widely admired of younger American composers. Bryce Dessner (from American indie rock band The National) and Nico Muhly are the heirs-apparent to the likes of Philip Glass and Steve Reich, writing music that is as engaging and accessible as it is stimulating and intriguing. Pekka Kuusisto is their perfect interpreter. — COMPOSER INSIGHTS: 6.45pm Nico Muhly discusses his Violin Concerto with Pekka Kuusisto.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED AND THROW AWAY YOUR INHIBITIONS: THIS ADVENTUROUS CONCERT HAS ‘MEMORABLE’ WRITTEN ALL OVER IT, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR MUSICAL TASTES!

Maxim Emelyanychev

MOZART PIANO CONCERTO No 20 PLAYED AND DIRECTED BY MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV — Thursday 30 April 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm DEBUSSY Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (10’) FARRENC Symphony No 3 in G minor (31’) MOZART Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor, K466 (30’) — MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV – Conductor / Piano Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev opens his final Season concert with Debussy’s intoxicating Prélude à l’après midi d’un faune. Louise Farrenc may not be a household name today, but her Third Symphony is a masterpiece that has too often been forgotten amongst the works of her male counterparts. It is big and ambitious, and was well admired by the likes of Berlioz and Schumann. To complete the concert, Maxim springs onto the piano to direct Mozart’s tempestuous Piano Concerto in D minor, K466.

Thursday 7 May 2020 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm

MENDELSSOHN ‘SCOTTISH’ SYMPHONY CONDUCTED BY FRANÇOIS LELEUX HELEN GRIME CONTINUES THE UPWARD TRAJECTORY OF HER POSITION ON THE BRITISH MUSIC SCENE WITH HER SUPERB NEW PERCUSSION CONCERTO... A MODEL OF CLARITY, TIMBRAL EXQUISITENESS AND RHYTHMIC TAUTNESS. Classical Source

MENDELSSOHN Overture, The Hebrides (10’) GRIME Percussion Concerto Scottish Premiere (c.18’) MENDELSSOHN Symphony No 3 ‘Scottish’ (40’) — FRANÇOIS LELEUX – Conductor COLIN CURRIE – Percussion

Mendelssohn spent just three weeks touring Scotland in 1829 but the inspiration he drew from it gave us two enduring musical classics. His symphony evokes Edinburgh’s Holyrood Palace, while The Hebrides takes you out to sea in a storm – not one of Mendelssohn’s happiest experiences, but it evidently made an impression! Completing this Caledonian special, two of Scotland’s top musicians, composer Helen Grime and soloist Colin Currie, meet the SCO in a new concerto. Grime’s idea of percussion is melodious and often lyrical as she plays with sounds of metal and wood “...an orchestral kaleidoscope of flickering lights and perfectly judged timbres.” – Financial Times — STORYTELLING INSIGHTS: 6.45pm A postcard from the past. Join storyteller Anna Lehr and SCO Cello Eric de Wit for a musical tale inspired by Mendelssohn’s love of Scotland. Encounter battles, royal leaders and stunning scenery.

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THESE PERFORMANCES OF BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES 8 AND 9. THERE’S NEVER A DULL MOMENT WITH EMMANUEL KRIVINE AT THE HELM! — Alison Green SCO Sub-Principal Bassoon

Thursday 14 May 2020 Usher Hall – 7.30pm

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Nos 8 & 9 CONDUCTED BY EMMANUEL KRIVINE WHAT A GREAT WORK BEETHOVEN’S EIGHTH IS! WHAT MASTERLY PLAYING BY THE TWO BASSOONISTS AND THE ENTIRE WOODWIND SECTION. THE SCO REALLY ARE SUPERB IN BEETHOVEN. — Seen and Heard International

BEETHOVEN Symphony No 8 (26’) Symphony No 9 ‘Choral’ (65’) — EMMANUEL KRIVINE – Conductor AGA MIKOLAJ – Soprano INGEBORG DANZ – Mezzo-Soprano MAXIMILIAN SCHMITT – Tenor KREŠIMIR STRAŽANAC – Bass — SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director

“Preach virtue to your children; it alone, not money can make you happy. I speak from experience; this was what upheld me in time of misery; to the virtue and to my art alike I owe the fact that I did not put an end to my life. Farewell, love one another!” Excerpt from Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament. We complete our celebrations of Beethoven’s 250th birthday with his bright and optimistic Eighth Symphony, followed by his ‘Choral’ Symphony, frequently dubbed the greatest piece of all time. Emmanuel Krivine is quite simply one of today’s finest interpreters of Beethoven. His focus on every detail in the score, delivers exhilarating performances, and by the end of the Ninth you will want to stand up and shout for joy!

WHAT IT MEANS TO PLAY IN THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Performing with the SCO gives you the sense that you’re never alone. Even in the scariest solo you are supported by colleagues. I love the fellowship and fun! Being in the SCO is an endlessly creative endeavour. I feel so lucky to be able to work with many inventive artists who inspire us to be exploratory in our approach. I look forward to every project here; it’s a very special orchestra. — Stephanie Gonley Leader

I love the rapport between the players and making music together at the highest level. I love the shared musical intelligence in the Orchestra, and the feeling in concerts of being musically free and alive. The Queen’s Hall audience is fantastically supportive – it’s great seeing familiar faces in the same seats every week. — Marcus Barcham Stevens Principal Second Violin

Every night is different, even with repeat performances. The dynamic between everyone on stage is always at play. Whatever the weather, we are constantly striving for excellence and the common goal of making music, which comes with a sense of fun and sometimes lightning electricity! — Su-a Lee Sub-Principal Cello

Being in the SCO is like being part of a family – there’s a strong feeling of togetherness. Everyone is engaged, striving for excellence with direct and committed playing. I think the camaraderie on stage always comes across. As a musician, the huge range of sound, colour and emotion that the Orchestra explores has always been a huge source of inspiration for me. It is always an absolute delight to notice both new and familiar faces from the stage, smiling in anticipation of what we’re all about to play and hear together. For, after all, making music is a shared experience. — Amira Bedrush-McDonald First Violin

I find there’s something very special not only about the many performances the SCO gives, but also the working process behind them, which audiences seldom get to see. It can be fascinating to observe and to consider how a programme or a piece takes shape over two days of rehearsal. I think because the SCO comprises so many wonderful, conscientious, curious and open-minded musicians, that there is immediately a kind of invisible dialogue between us in rehearsal, as well as between us and the conductor. — Philip Higham Principal Cello

I am so lucky to play alongside such wonderful musicians. I enjoy the concerts we give around Scotland and further afield. I love the work I do with the SCO in schools, hospitals and the community. I also love the chamber music opportunities with my colleagues, playing in concerts and recording. — Alison Green Sub-Principal Bassoon

HOW TO BOOK SEASON CONCERTS I £37

II £30

III £24.50

IV £18

BOOK ONLINE AT SCO.ORG.UK, BY POST, PHONE OR IN PERSON.

V £12.50

Prices valid until 26 September. Prices subject to increase from 1 September onwards. Booking Fees: £1 per transaction online or £1 by phone. £2 per subscription form.

MULTIBUY (SUBSCRIPTION) SEASON CONCERT DISCOUNTS Save up to a third off your tickets (38% for seniors) Book for the whole Season and save up to 38%. Subscribe for as few as four concerts and save! No. of Concerts Saving (Standard) 22-23 33% 20-21 30% 18-19 28% 16-17 25% 14-15 22% 12-13 20% 10-11 18% 8-9 15% 6-7 12% 4-5 10%

Saving (Senior) 38% 35% 33% 30% 27% 25% 23% 20% 17% 15%

Book by 12 April 2019 and receive a free ticket to Chamber Sunday on 23 February 2020. Renew your subscription by 12 April 2019 and, wherever possible, keep your seats from the previous Season. Book online by 14 June 2019 and have the option to pay in four instalments by Direct Debit. Book by 1 September 2019 and receive a free copy of Maxim Emelyanychev’s first recording with the SCO (1 per household). Add the New Year Gala Concert to your subscription and get your preferred seats at Price Band IV prices. All single tickets on sale from Thursday 9 May 2019.

–––– SUBSCRIPTIONS, CHORUS CHRISTMAS and FAMILY CONCERTS can all be booked online at sco.org.uk.

Single tickets for other concerts should be booked at the Queen’s Hall (all concerts) or Usher Hall (Usher Hall concerts only) Box Offices. — Please note: all discounts are subject to availability. We regret that tickets are non-refundable. Every effort is made to ensure that all information is correct at the time of going to print. The SCO does however reserve the right to change dates, artists or programmes if necessary.

ADDITIONAL EVENTS CHAMBER SUNDAY CONCERTS £16 + Booking Fee —

CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT £17 + Booking Fee (no fee if booking at sco.org.uk) —

FAMILY CONCERT £12.50 (children £6) —

NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT £37 - £12.50 + Booking Fee Single tickets for Chorus Christmas and Family concerts can be bought online at sco.org.uk.

–––– GROUP DISCOUNTS Groups of 6 or more booking together save 20% off full price tickets (only available when booking at the Box Office.)

SENIOR CITIZENS £2 off single full price tickets (excludes Family Concert) or save up to 38% when booking four or more concerts. —

26 OR UNDER, STUDENTS AND UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE £6 per ticket for all concerts (excludes New Year Gala Concert). —

18 OR UNDER Free. (Please note under 16s must be accompanied by a paying adult) (excludes New Year Gala Concert, Family Concert and Nicola Benedetti Concert – Under 18s: £6 each). Kindly supported by the Inches Carr Trust —

PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY 50% off full price tickets and, where one is required, 50% off for their companion. A limited number of free tickets are available for full-time carers. Please ask at the Box Office.

SEATING PLANS Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hall Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JG 0131 668 2019

Usher Hall Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2EA 0131 228 1155

STAGE STAGE STALLS

GALLERY

Wheelchair accommodation is available in the centre and side stalls. Ramps are fitted at the front and rear of the hall, and there is a toilet at stalls level. Guide dogs are welcome. An induction loop is fitted for people with hearing difficulties. Please notify the Box Office when booking. Only small handbags, small backpacks and briefcases will be permitted, and must be kept with you at all times. Random bag searches will be carried out so please assist venue staff by complying as requested.

STALLS

GRAND CIRCLE

UPPER CIRCLE

Wheelchair accommodation is available. Parking spaces for blue badge holders are located across from the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Grindlay Street and in Cambridge Street across from the Traverse Theatre. Guide dogs are welcome. An induction loop is fitted for people with hearing difficulties. Please notify the Box Office when booking. Only small handbags, small backpacks and briefcases will be permitted, and must be kept with you at all times. Random bag searches will be carried out so please assist venue staff by complying as requested.

SUBSCRIPTION PRICES BAND

III

FULL PRICE TICKETS

£37.00

£30.00

£24.50

£18.00

STANDARD DISCOUNTS Saving off full price

Number of concerts

III

10%

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£108.00

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£122.40

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18%

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20%

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£235.20

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22%

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28%

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30%

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33%

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12% 15%

SENIOR DISCOUNTS Saving off full price

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III

15%

£125.80

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20%

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23%

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25%

£333.00

£270.00

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£162.00

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£175.50

27%

£378.14

£306.60

£250.32

£183.96

£405.15

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30%

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33%

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35%

£481.00

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£234.00

£505.05

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38%

£504.68

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£527.62

£427.80

£349.37

£256.68

17%

Please note: there are no multibuy discounts in Price Band V. Multibuy discounts for people with a disability start from four concerts. The discount is 50% off full price tickets when you purchase tickets for four or more concerts in one transaction. If you are under 26, each concert costs £6.

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23 April (QH)

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NB: UH = Usher Hall, QH = Queen’s Hall

2. No of subscriptions by discount type (please write in the box the number of subscriptions for each category) Standard

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3. Please choose your price band (tick one box)

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4. Where applicable, do you have a preference on seating area? Usher Hall:

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5. Additional events (e.g. Chamber Sundays, Chorus Christmas, Family and New Year’s Day Concerts) Additional Events

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6. SCO Donation – please help us bring music to all by making a donation I would like to become a Patron or renew Patronage with my donation (Donations £60+)

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Spread the cost of your multibuy subscription over four months by subscribing online and paying by direct debit. Please return this form to: SCO Subscriptions, 4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB Please note: postal transaction fee subject to change if postage costs rise.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra processes data for certain legitimate business purposes in order to provide you with the best experiences and most relevant information about our activities as an arts charity. These include recording your ticket purchases, subscriptions and donations, keeping you up-to-date on the events you have booked as well as sending you information about similar events and opportunities to support our work. We pass on some of your data to the venues and box offices of the events you have booked for the same purpose. More information about how we process your data can be found within the Privacy Statement on our website sco.org.uk/privacy-statement. If you wish for your data not to be used in these ways, please let us know.

WE WANT TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO ENJOY MUSIC-MAKING THE WORK OF THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE CONCERT PLATFORM, WITH IMAGINATIVE COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION PROGRAMMES. We aim to inspire and motivate people of all ages and backgrounds right across Scotland. Our Creative Learning programme is as important to us as our concert-giving. Everything we do is, above all, about the joy and enrichment of lives through music, supporting inclusion and positive social interaction, improving wellbeing and raising young people’s aspirations.

IT’S REALLY SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF. IT’S AN AMAZING PIECE OF MUSIC AND THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK PUT INTO IT, AND IT MAKES ME FEEL NOW THAT I CAN GO ON TO OTHER THINGS AND THEY’RE NOT GOING TO BE AS DIFFICULT AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE BETTER. — Pupil, Wester Hailes Education Centre

Creative Learning Partner

Our ambitions to grow and exceed expectations in these areas far outweigh our resources. From April 2019 onwards, however, we are able to extend our reach and introduce a new programme, all thanks to our Creative Learning Partner Baillie Gifford. As well as expanding the SCO’s community work through the Residency in Wester Hailes, continuing our education programme for upper secondary pupils in all 32 local authorities and developing young musical talent, we will create a new cultural prescribing programme for young people with mental health problems. This is a really important project which aims to help young people cope with what life has thrown at them.

Enhancing music education — We are now able to take our flagship ‘Masterworks’ programme to upper secondary schools in all 32 Local Authorities in Scotland on a three-year rolling basis.

Community residency programme — Thanks to the investment from Baillie Gifford, we continue to run free, creative music projects at all local schools, and family events and projects for adults in partnership with local charities. This project, currently running in Wester Hailes, also allows us to bring local residents to city centre SCO concerts free of charge.

From 2019, we will provide digital resources to increase the number of schools who can benefit from the programme each year.

I COUNTED 23 DIFFERENT SQA [Scottish Qualifications Authority] CONCEPTS BEING DISCUSSED AND USED IN THE WORKSHOP… STUDENTS ARE OFTEN STUCK IN A WORLD OF “TUNES” AND THIS REALLY HELPED DEVELOP THEIR COMPOSITIONAL SKILLS. — Music Teacher, Scottish Borders

Youth talent development — In partnership with St Mary’s Music School, the new SCO Youth Academy programme supports talent development. Young musicians from all walks of life who have reached Grade 6+ work alongside SCO musicians to develop their technique, musicianship and orchestral playing. In addition to the enhanced psychological wellbeing that group music-making confers, participants will benefit by developing key life skills such as social confidence, teamwork, communication skills, and a sense of accomplishment. For more information on SCO Creative Learning, please visit sco.org.uk/creativelearning

WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY A HUGE THANK YOU OUR SUPPORTERS HELP TO MAKE THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA THE WORLD-CLASS ARTS ORGANISATION IT IS. Through generous donations, grants and sponsorship from individuals, charitable trusts and businesses, we can continue our extensive range of performances and tours both here and abroad; commission new, vibrant and culturally important music; and deliver our highly-respected and innovative educational events and projects throughout Scotland and across age groups. It is important that we remain a vital and relevant part of the cultural landscape. The love of music that we bring to schools, care homes, villages, towns, cities and even overseas enhances peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives and we want to share that with everyone.

THE GENEROSITY OF OUR FUNDERS ALLOWS US TO CREATE TRULY WORLD-CLASS MUSIC, EVENTS AND PROJECTS BOTH HERE AND ABROAD.

Core Funder

Benefactor

DUNARD FUND Local Authority

Major Partner

Creative Learning Partner

Sister Organisation

SCO AMERICA

Business Partners

Principal Conductorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Circle Geoff and Mary Ball Kenneth and Martha Barker Sir Ewan and Lady Brown Colin and Sue Buchan David and Maria Cumming Jo and Alison Elliot Gavin and Kate Gemmell Erik Lars Hansen and Vanessa C. L. Chang Donald and Louise MacDonald Jasmine Macquaker Charitable Fund Anne McFarlane Stuart and Alison Paul Anne and Matthew Richards Paul and Clare Rooney Claire and Anthony Tait The Thomas Family Claire and Mark Urquhart The Usher Family Bryan Wade Hedley G Wright

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

#mySCO @SCOmusic Facebook: @scottishchamberorchestra —

KEEP IN TOUCH

sco.org.uk/keep-me-informed telephone: 0131 557 6800 email: info@sco.org.uk —

BECOME A PATRON

Donate to the SCO and get to know us better. telephone: 0131 478 8344 sco.org.uk/support-us/patrons — Programmes, artists, dates, times, prices and availability subject to change. SCO Patrons, Subscribers and current ticket buyers receive regular news by email and post. More information about how we process your data can be found within the Privacy Statement on our website sco.org.uk/privacy-statement.

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay Patron Donald MacDonald CBE Life President Colin Buchan Chairman Gavin Reid Chief Executive Maxim Emelyanychev Principal Conductor Emmanuel Krivine Principal Guest Conductor Joseph Swensen Conductor Emeritus Gregory Batsleer Chorus Director Anna Clyne Associate Composer

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

#mySCO @SCOmusic Facebook: @scottishchamberorchestra —

KEEP IN TOUCH

sco.org.uk/keep-me-informed telephone: 0131 557 6800 email: info@sco.org.uk —

BECOME A PATRON

Donate to the SCO and get to know us better. telephone: 0131 478 8344 sco.org.uk/support-us/patrons — Programmes, artists, dates, times, prices and availability subject to change.

SCO Patrons, Subscribers and current ticket buyers receive regular news by email and post. More information about how we process your data can be found within the Privacy Statement on our website sco.org.uk/privacy-statement.

Designed by: Association designbyassoc.com Brand photography: Gordon Burnistoun Photography credits: Fraser Band Julien Becker David Boni Marco Borggreve Benjamin Ealovega Simon Fowler Kaapo Kamu Daniel Garcia Lopez Javier Oddo Reuben Paris

Thursday 26 September Usher Hall

Thursday 3 October Queen’s Hall

Thursday 10 October Usher Hall

Thursday 24 October Queen’s Hall

DVOŘÁK and BRAHMS with François Leleux

BACH and SIBELIUS with Pekka Kuusisto

MOZART REQUIEM with Klaus Mäkelä

HAYDN and SCHUMANN Piano Concertos

Thursday 31 October Queen’s Hall

Thursday 7 November Queen’s Hall

Thursday 14 November Queen’s Hall

Thursday 21 November Usher Hall

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODIES with Joseph Swensen

MOZART, HAYDN & CLYNE with Pekka Kuusisto

MOZART’S ‘JUPITER’ with Maxim Emelyanychev

BEETHOVEN 1 & 3 with Emmanuel Krivine

Sunday 1 December 3pm Queen’s Hall

Thursday 5 December Queen’s Hall

Thursday 12 December Usher Hall

Thursday 19 December Greyfriars Kirk

CHAMBER SUNDAY 1 with SCO Wind Soloists

HARMONY MASS with SCO CHORUS

BEETHOVEN 2, 4 & 5 with Andrew Manze

SCO CHORUS Christmas Concert

Wednesday 1 January Usher Hall

Thursday 16 January Queen’s Hall

Thursday 30 January Usher Hall

NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT with Joseph Swensen

BAROQUE DANCES with Maxim Emelyanychev

ALMA & GUSTAV MAHLER with Mark Wigglesworth

Saturday 8 February 12pm & 2.30pm Assembly Rooms

Thursday 20 February Queen’s Hall

Sunday 23 February 3pm Queen’s Hall

Thursday 27 February Queen’s Hall

Thursday 5 March Usher Hall

SHOSTAKOVICH & SCHUBERT with Nicolas Altstaedt

CHAMBER SUNDAY 2 with Kristian Bezuidenhout

BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto

BEETHOVEN 6 & 7 with Maxim Emelyanychev

Thursday 12 March Usher Hall

Thursday 19 March Queen’s Hall

Thursday 26 March Queen’s Hall

Sunday 29 March 3pm Queen’s Hall

MENDELSSOHN and MOZART with Nicola Benedetti

EÖTVÖS with Nikita Naumov

VIVALDI GLORIA with SCO Chorus

CHAMBER SUNDAY 3 with Maxim Emelyanychev

Thursday 2 April Queen’s Hall

Thursday 23 April Queen’s Hall

Thursday 30 April Queen’s Hall

Thursday 7 May Queen’s Hall

THE MAGIC HARP with Xavier de Maistre

VOYAGE THROUGH AMERICA with Pekka Kuusisto

MOZART with Maxim Emelyanychev

MENDELSSOHN’S ‘SCOTTISH’ with François Leleux

STAN AND MABEL with Chris Jarvis

Thursday 14 May Usher Hall BEETHOVEN 8 & 9 with Emmanuel Krivine

4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB +44 (0)131 557 6800 • info@sco.org.uk www.sco.org.uk The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039. Company registration No. SC075079.

Cover photo: Su-a Lee SCO Sub-Principal Cello