SCO 2012/13 Season Brochure Edinburgh by Scottish Chamber Orchestra

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Edinburgh Concerts 2012/13 www.sco.org.uk Tickets: 0131 668 2019 www.thequeenshall.net

WELCOME

to your 2012/13 SCO Season!

It is so important to us here at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra that when you open our 2012/13 Season Brochure, there is a festival of choice in front of your eyes: from un-born premieres to familiar Mozart symphonies, we hope to give you a treat, a challenge, a gift on every page. Notwithstanding the current financial climate, the Orchestra feels an intense excitement at the prospect of bringing you a Season full of wonderful soloists, conductors and music. The world needs music more than ever, and we are here to help make it available to you. We are thrilled to have three of the world’s most renowned pianists coming to play Mozart with us: Maria João Pires, Piotr Anderszewski and Robert Levin. Each will bring their unique style to these beloved concerti. Their wordless stage will be set with our Season’s opening performance of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Come to this concert performance, shut your eyes, conjure your own set, dream your own costumes and make it a theatre of the imagination. Decide what really happens to these lovers at the end: chaos? Or simply the deepest truth in chaos? Mahler and the SCO are not ingredients that are usually found together but, over a period of two weeks this Season, the Orchestra will play its first Das Lied von der Erde in the chamber version and the famous Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony.

Join us to explore these Viennese works in a very different setting. In the same weeks the remarkable lieder singer Matthias Goerne will make his debut with the Orchestra in exquisite orchestral settings of Schubert songs. Britten was hugely influenced by Mahler and it is fitting that we celebrate his centenary this Season in a series of concerts. Recently appointed Associate Artist Richard Egarr will work with the SCO Chorus, and our brilliant Principal Horn Alec Frank-Gemmill will join John Mark Ainsley in the romantic Serenade for tenor, horn and strings. Ainsley will have just sung his first Peter Grimes and, after his memorable Nocturne in the 2010/11 Season, this is Britten not to be missed.

We hope to give you a treat, a challenge, a gift on every page. The world needs music more than ever, and we are here to help make it available to you.

Do join us for some exciting premieres: step into the unknown with the Orchestra as it discovers new music in the same week you come and hear it! François Leleux performs the Scottish premiere of James MacMillan’s Oboe Concerto, and it is a real pleasure that the Orchestra gives the world premiere of Lyell Cresswell’s Triple Concerto. As with every Season, we hope there is something here for everyone – familiar favourites such as Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Berlioz make their welcome return as we at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra invite you to join us for a roller-coaster ride in classical music!

ROBIN TICCIATI PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Photograph by Chris Christodoulou

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Robin Ticciati principal conductor

Internationally recognised as one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, the SCO performs throughout Scotland – in the towns and villages of the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland as well as concert seasons in the main cities. The Orchestra’s repertoire spans the centuries – music from the baroque to the present day, from Bach to Britten, Mozart to MacMillan. It is regularly invited to appear at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, and has toured extensively internationally: in November 2012, it undertakes a major European tour with Robin Ticciati and Maria João Pires. The SCO is also busy in the recording studio, with a number of award-winning CDs and a special recording relationship with Glasgowbased Linn Records.

A young conductor whose star is definitely in the ascendant, Robin Ticciati’s recent appearances have included many of the world’s great orchestras: the Royal Concertgebouw, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Rotterdam Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras to name just a few. He’s also been announced Music Director Designate of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, has made his debut at The Metropolitan Opera, New York, and will soon give his first performances at La Scala, Milan.

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

“ … exquisite” the guardian

“ I have rarely sensed an audience so comprehensively pinned to their seats… what a tour de force of performance we witnessed.”

Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

“ The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and its Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati have already become one of the great partnerships in British music.” daily telegraph

the herald

TICCIATI CONDUCTS COSĺ FAN TUTTE 4 October

GOERNE SINGS SCHUBERT 7 March

THE ROMANTIC AGE 11 October

DAS LIED VON DER ERDE 16 March

PIRES PLAYS MOZART 15 November

TICCIATI CONDUCTS BERLIOZ 4 April 5

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Alexander Janiczek associate artist Austrian violinist Alexander Janiczek has enjoyed a long and close relationship with the SCO. He held the position of Leader with the Orchestra from 1999 to 2002, and since then has regularly been invited back as guest director and soloist. He has directed the Orchestra from the violin in a series of three highly acclaimed recordings of Mozart Serenades and Divertimenti (Linn Records).

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Richard Egarr associate artist Although possibly best known for his expertise in the music of the baroque period, Richard Egarr’s wide-ranging interests span the centuries and his career combines conducting, directing from the keyboard, playing concerti, giving recitals and talking about music. His energy and joy in creating music have made him a firm favourite with SCO musicians and audiences over the years. THE LITTLE C MAJOR 17 January

“… spellbinding”

“ What a firecracker he is. Showman, raconteur, wit, outrageous entertainer, dynamo and spontaneous energiser of music: he does the lot, with style.”

the guardian

ANDERSZEWSKI PLAYS MOZART 21 February SINFONIA CONCERTANTE 11 April

the herald

Joseph Swensen conductor emeritus Joseph Swensen became SCO Conductor Emeritus in 2005, following nine successful years as Principal Conductor. During that time, he developed a unique relationship with the Orchestra as violin soloist as well as conductor, and recorded five CDs in this dual role with the SCO through its partnership with Linn Records. Their hugely popular concert series of Beethoven Symphonies and Piano Concerti are still talked about by many who were there.

BRITTEN 100: I 18 April

“… Swensen and the orchestra were practically airborne and looked as if they were having the ride of their lives…” the scotsman

SWENSEN CONDUCTS THE ‘RHENISH’ 25 October

Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Photograph by Ugo Ponte

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

SEASON

The Age of Romanticism Musical greats of the Romantic Age – Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms – are vital to every SCO Season. The orchestra of their imagination was about the size of the SCO. For decades we have been used to hearing their work played by much larger orchestras, so an SCO performance of even a familiar masterpiece is akin to seeing a painting restored: details and colours that have been obscured for years are revealed afresh. Magical! There’s plenty of music by all these composers to enjoy this Season, and a work that could qualify as the quintessential Romantic masterpiece: Berlioz’s Harold in Italy. Inspired by Byron, it has every Romantic obsession in a single work: nature, awe-inspiring landscapes, lonely wandering, cataclysmic tumults and terrifying adventures. Enriching the SCO’s exploration is music by less familiar names – composers who were celebrated in their day but who have since slipped into obscurity: Dussek was prominent in Haydn’s London and Reicha was a close friend of Beethoven. Hearing their music alongside familiar classics makes these concerts all the more enjoyable.

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Highlights

Britten 100 2013 is Benjamin Britten’s 100th birthday year. For two weeks in April you can immerse yourself in his wonderful work, including familiar favourites and new discoveries.

Mozart at the Piano Don’t miss the opportunity to hear three of today’s great pianists play Mozart: Maria João Pires in November, Piotr Anderszewski in February and Robert Levin in May.

An SCO performance of even a familiar masterpiece is akin to seeing a painting restored: details and colours that have been obscured for years are revealed afresh. Magical!

Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix

Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Ticciati conducts Così fan tutte Usher Hall Thursday 4 October 7pm MOZART Così fan tutte (concert performance) (180’) ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor SALLY MATTHEWS Fiordiligi LAURA TATULESCU Despina RACHEL FRENKEL Dorabella MAXIMILIAN SCHMITT Ferrando ADAM PLACHETKA Guglielmo CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN Don Alfonso SCO CHORUS

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It’s a heart-wrenching tale which inspired great operatic writing from Mozart; sublime moments such as the trio Soave sia il vento and great arias including Un aura amoroso.

Photograph by Johan Perrson

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Opening the 2010 SCO Season with a thrilling Don Giovanni, Robin Ticciati set some kind of a precedent! Now he follows it with Mozart’s sharp, dark, sexy comedy of young love betrayed: two men are tempted to test their lovers through a cruel deception, then pay the price in heartache and sorrow when the women fall into the trap. It’s a heartwrenching tale which inspired great operatic writing from Mozart; sublime moments such as the trio Soave sia il vento and great arias including Un aura amoroso. Ticciati is joined by a brilliant cast of singers: just what you would expect from a conductor who is the toast of the operatic as well as the orchestral world. Please note start time. Supported by Dunard Fund and The ‘Così’ Circle

The Romantic Age

Musical Magicians

Usher Hall Thursday 11 October 7.30pm

Queen’s Hall Saturday 20 October 7.30pm

BERLIOZ Overture, King Lear (16’) SCHUMANN Violin Concerto (31’) BEETHOVEN Symphony No 3 ‘Eroica’ (47’) ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor VERONIKA EBERLE Violin

Musically, the 19th century was a golden era. To this day, its music brings the age of Romanticism alive: that time of sweeping change, war, revolution and passion is celebrated in this concert. Berlioz wrote King Lear a year after his Symphonie Fantastique: it is easily as vivid and dramatic, full of grand-guignol tumult, but pathos and tragedy too. It makes a powerful complement to Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, which Ticciati conducts for the first time in Scotland. Don’t miss the SCO Season debut of the young German violinist Veronika Eberle: currently a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, she inspires reviews extolling her ‘star quality’ and ‘electrifying’ performances.

DEBUSSY (arr. ZENDER) Five Preludes (15’) CRESSWELL Triple Concerto world premiere (20’) SCO co-commission with the Association of Friends of the Swiss Piano Trio

TAKEMITSU How Slow the Wind (11’) RAVEL Mother Goose (complete) (29’) BALDUR BRÖNNIMANN Conductor SWISS PIANO TRIO

Many have attempted to translate Debussy’s Preludes from piano to orchestra, but none succeeds better than Zender. With an intuitive way of getting under the skin of the music, he is a magician in the same class as Ravel, whose timeless Mother Goose completes the evening. Lyell Cresswell knows the SCO well and has written a stream of dramatic, high-impact pieces for the Orchestra. His new work is unusual: a concerto for trio and orchestra. Pre-Concert Talk: 6.30pm (free to ticket holders) Lyell Cresswell and Baldur Brönnimann talk about the Triple Concerto.

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Photograph by Uwe Arens

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Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Moonrise over the Sea by Caspar David Friedrich

Swensen conducts the ‘Rhenish’ Queen’s Hall Thursday 25 October 7.30pm WALTON Two Pieces from Henry V (5’)

SCHUMANN Symphony No 3 ‘Rhenish’ (32’) JOSEPH SWENSEN Conductor RALPH KIRSHBAUM Cello

Pires plays Mozart Photograph by Felix Broede and Deutsche Grammophon

BARBER Cello Concerto (27’)

Swensen and Kirshbaum – two long-time SCO favourites – return for a delightful evening of music-making. Kirshbaum first recorded the Barber concerto with the SCO back in the 1980s, and it is still one of the top recommended recordings. It has plenty of Barber’s warm mellow lyricism about it, but a good bit of spark and punch too. Schumann’s ‘Rhenish’ was actually his last symphony. It is often mentioned in the same breath as Beethoven’s Fifth and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Come expecting heroics and full-blooded Romanticism, delivered with Swensen’s signature passion and sweep.

Usher Hall Thursday 15 November 7.30pm WAGNER Siegfried Idyll (18’)

Cologne on the Rhine by Joseph Mallord William Turner

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

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Schumann’s ‘Rhenish’ was actually his last symphony. It is often mentioned in the same breath as Beethoven’s Fifth and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

MOZART Piano Concerto No 17 in G K453 (30’) BEETHOVEN Symphony No 6 ‘Pastoral’ (39’) ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor MARIA JOÃO PIRES Piano As life-affirming and joyful a programme as you could wish, performed by some of the finest musicians in the world. Pires appears with Ticciati for the first time in Scotland, following hard on the heels of a grand tour of the great halls of Europe.

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Chamber Concert

Choral Romance

Queen’s Hall Sunday 25 November 3pm

Queen’s Hall Thursday 29 November 7.30pm

BEETHOVEN Sextet (17’)

SCHUMANN Zwickau Symphony (18’)

SEIBER Serenade (15’)

BRAHMS (arr. GLANERT) Four Preludes & Serious Songs (24’)

WEBER Adagio and Rondo (5’)

SCHUMANN Overture, Scherzo & Finale (17’)

MOZART Serenade in E-flat K375 (25’)

BRAHMS Liebeslieder Walzer (17’)

SCO WIND SOLOISTS

SCHUMANN Nachtlied (9’)

JOHN STORGÅRDS Conductor ARTUR PIZARRO Piano

OLARI ELTS Conductor MARKUS WERBA Baritone SCO CHORUS

Charismatic Finn John Storgårds returns to the SCO with a new work from his famous countryman, Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Mendelssohn’s majestic ‘Reformation’ Symphony. It was written to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession – the statement of Lutheran beliefs and practices presented to the Emperor Charles V in 1530; Mendelssohn captures the mystery and awe of the revelation, but also the fire and drama of Luther’s story. Pizarro’s performances of Beethoven have been described as an ‘unalloyed delight’. Not to be missed.

“At eleven o’clock at night I was treated to a serenade – and that too of my own composition. These musicians… surprised me, just as I was about to undress, in the most pleasant fashion imaginable with the first chord in E-flat.” So wrote Mozart in 1781. That very Serenade ends this lovely concert, which opens in youthful high spirits with Beethoven’s Sextet. The clarinet is a bit of a scene-stealer here – Beethoven gives it plenty of flashes of brilliance.

There is certainly no shortage of contrast here. The Four Serious Songs are among Brahms’ most profound and personal works – deeply meditative music. They are performed here with his frothy and whimsical Liebeslieder Walzer – pop music of the highest quality. Schumann, who was a close friend to Brahms, is also heard in dramatically different modes – the Overture, Scherzo and Finale is sheer extrovert showmanship, while the Nachtlied brings the evening to a beautifully serene close.

Pizarro plays Beethoven

Weber Wind Concertos

Queen’s Hall Thursday 6 December 7.30pm

Queen’s Hall Saturday 15 December 7.30pm

RAUTAVAARA Into the Heart of Light UK premiere (15’)

BEETHOVEN Overture, Egmont (9’)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No 2 (28’)

WEBER Bassoon Concerto in F major (19’)

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No 5 ‘Reformation’ (27’)

WEBER Clarinet Concerto in F minor (21’)

MOZART Symphony No 25 in G minor (24’) PABLO GONZÁLEZ Conductor PETER WHELAN Bassoon MAXIMILIANO MARTĺN Clarinet A perfect curtain-raiser to the festive season. High spirits, brilliant comedy and jawdropping virtuosity are the essence of Weber’s concertos: a man of the theatre, he certainly knew how to entertain and thrill. Beethoven had no time at all for him, but had to eat his words when Weber wrote the most successful and influential opera of the decade. Egmont belongs to an utterly different kind of Romanticism: dark, heroic and stormy. Sponsored by

Pre-Concert Talk: 6.30pm (free to ticket holders) Dr Fiona Elliott talks about the Age of Romanticism. rro iza ur P

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Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway by Joseph Mallord William Turner

Photograph by Sven Arnstein

New Year in Vienna

The Great C Major

The Little C Major

Usher Hall Tuesday 1 January 7pm

Queen’s Hall Thursday 10 January 7.30pm

Queen’s Hall Thursday 17 January 7.30pm

BEETHOVEN Overture, Coriolan (8’)

BEETHOVEN Overture, Prometheus (5’)

MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No 1 (21’)

DUSSEK Piano Concerto in G minor Op 49 (31’)

SCHUBERT Symphony No 9 ‘Great C major’ (48’)

SCHUBERT Symphony No 6 ‘Little C major’ (29’)

DAVID AFKHAM Conductor FRANCESCO PIEMONTESI Piano

RICHARD EGARR Conductor/Fortepiano

Programme to include: STRAUSS Blue Danube Waltz STRAUSS Tritsch-Tratsch Polka VON SUPPé Overture, Poet and Peasant STRAUSS Czardas (from Die Fledermaus) LÉHAR Viljalied (from The Merry Widow) THOMAS RÖSNER Conductor SARAH-JANE BRANDON Soprano

Is there any finer way to greet the New Year than with a sparkling, traditional Viennese gala concert? Lovely singing, irresistible Strauss waltzes, polkas and overtures, and, of course, the essential favourites: The Blue Danube and Radetsky March. This is music to brighten up the darkest days and send you off with a spring in your step.

Begin 2013 in the company of two brilliant and charismatic young artists. David Afkham’s awards, prizes and plaudits make impressive reading: he has captured the attention of musicians and public alike, and makes his SCO debut with a typically ambitious bill. Schubert’s ‘Great C major’ is not for the faint-hearted; for most of the 19th century it was considered unperformable. Now a firmly established favourite, it remains an epic musical journey. Piemontesi returns to the SCO, a pianist as charming as he is formidable.

Between classics by Schubert and Beethoven, SCO Associate Artist Richard Egarr introduces one of their contemporaries who deserves to be far better known. Dussek certainly had a colourful life: his brilliance as pianist and composer won him the favour of Catherine the Great of Russia and Napoleon Bonaparte among others. It also won him favours of another kind, and he had to flee several countries with angry husbands on his heels. He left eighteen captivating and unusual piano concertos – hugely enjoyable to listen to, and fascinating for us looking back to that time because, in them, you can so clearly hear the future – the piano styles of Liszt, Chopin and Schumann. Pre-Concert Talk: 6.30pm (free to ticket holders) Richard Egarr talks about Jan Ladislav Dussek and his contemporaries.

Franz Schubert

MacMillan Oboe Concerto

Romantic Century

Queen’s Hall Thursday 31 January 7.30pm STRAVINSKY Pulcinella: Suite (21’)

“James MacMillan’s new Oboe Concerto is a corker…” – The Times’ verdict at its first performance. Even if contemporary music is not really your thing, we urge you not to miss this Scottish premiere given by the sensational François Leleux. Framing it, two perennial favourites: visits to Italy in the company of a distinguished Russian and a youthful German.

MacMILLAN Oboe Concerto Scottish premiere (23’) MENDELSSOHN Symphony No 4 ‘Italian’ (27’) Photograph by Chris Christodoulou

SCHUMANN Cello Concerto (25’)

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

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ANDREW MANZE Conductor DAVID WATKIN Cello

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BEETHOVEN Symphony No 1 (26’)

Now established as an exceptionally fine conductor, Andrew Manze is a musician of great range and curiosity. In this programme, he typically takes a familiar work – in this case Beethoven’s First Symphony – and gives it an intriguing context: Mendelssohn is in very Beethovenian form in the little known overture and Schumann meltingly Romantic in the Cello Concerto. Rolf Martinsson’s reflection on Schoenberg’s ultra-Romantic Verklärte Nacht may last only ten minutes, but it makes a powerful, memorable impression, paving the way for the youthful blaze of Beethoven’s symphony.

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MARTINSSON A.S. in Memoriam Op 50a (10’)

THIERRY FISCHER Conductor FRANÇOIS LELEUX Oboe

Enjoy more music and save money – book an SCO subscription – see page 36 for details.

Queen’s Hall Saturday 26 January 7.30pm MENDELSSOHN Trumpet Overture (8’)

Photograph by Philip Gatward

Lord Nelson

Anderszewski plays Mozart

Family Concert: A Little Book of Monsters

Queen’s Hall Thursday 21 February 7.30pm

Usher Hall Saturday 9 February 3pm GRIEG Music from Peer Gynt (15’) PATTERSON Three Little Pigs (21’) DEAZLEY & HARVEY A Little Book of Monsters (37’) SCO co-commission with St Magnus International Festival, Deal Festival of Music and Arts, Down Arts Centre, The Sage Gateshead and Welsh National Opera.

JAMES LOWE Conductor MATTHEW SHARP Narrator EDINBURGH PRIMARY SCHOOLS’ CHOIR

SCHUBERT Overture in D ‘In the Italian Style’ (10’) Come ready to scream! But only in the fun, hiding-behind-the-back-of-the-sofa way that kids love. Stephen Deazley and Matt Harvey’s A Little Book of Monsters is full of songs about the kind of creatures that live under your bed… There’s more fun with Paul Patterson’s hilarious retelling of the Three Little Pigs, and a quick dance with a troll to start. Bring the kids and the grandkids. Suitable for everyone over 6 years of age. Visit www.littlebookofmonsters.info

Illustration by Seymour

Nelson Mass

MOZART Piano Concerto No 23 in A K488 (26’)

Queen’s Hall Thursday 28 February 7.30pm

BEETHOVEN Grosse Fuge (16’)

HAYDN Nelson Mass (41’)

MOZART Piano Concerto No 25 in C K503 (30’)

HAYDN Scena from Berenice (12’)

PIOTR ANDERSZEWSKI Piano/Director ALEXANDER JANICZEK Violin/Director

HAYDN Symphony No 101 ‘The Clock’ (29’)

Witness the ultimate in multi-tasking: playing the piano and directing an orchestra at the same time. Anderszewski manages it effortlessly and has given many wonderful Mozart performances with the SCO, both in Scotland and on their many international tours. It is really something special. Complementing these marvellous pieces, SCO Associate Artist Alexander Janiczek directs a youthful spree from Schubert and one of the most astonishing pieces in all music: Grosse Fuge is late Beethoven at its most visionary.

ADAM FISCHER Conductor ELIZABETH WATTS Soprano CLARE WILKINSON Mezzo Soprano ANDREW STAPLES Tenor NEAL DAVIES Bass Baritone SCO CHORUS Every year the SCO brings the world’s finest musicians, yet it is still a special thrill when an artist of the stature of Adam Fischer makes his debut with the Orchestra. Haydn is his passion: he created both a festival and an orchestra to perform the great man’s work. He comes to Scotland with a blockbuster programme to show Haydn in symphonic, operatic and grand styles. Pre-Concert Talk: 6.30pm (free to ticket holders) Adam Fischer talks about Haydn.

two weeks in vienna

Das Lied von der Erde Queen’s Hall Saturday 16 March 7.30pm HAYDN Symphony No 60 ‘Il Distratto’ (24’)

“The most personal utterance among Mahler’s creations, and perhaps in all music…” The view of Mahler’s friend, the conductor Bruno Walter, who gave the premiere in 1911 and lived to conduct Das Lied at the very first Edinburgh Festival in 1947. Inspired by Chinese poetry, the music veers between earthly passions and eternal longings, ultimately dissolving into sublime nothingness. This acclaimed new chamber orchestra version was premiered at the BBC Proms. Ticciati has preceded it, playfully enough, with perhaps Haydn’s most theatrical and mad – literally mad – symphony.

MAHLER (arr. CORTESE) Das Lied von der Erde (65’) ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor KAREN CARGILL Mezzo Soprano TOBY SPENCE Tenor

Goerne sings Schubert Queen’s Hall Thursday 7 March 7.30pm BACH (arr. WEBERN) Ricercar from The Musical Offering (9’) SCHUBERT Songs with orchestra (20’) MAHLER Adagietto from Symphony No 5 (9’) SCHUBERT Symphony No 5 (27’)

Photograph by Ken Dundas

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ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor MATTHIAS GOERNE Baritone

To get the utmost out of Robin Ticciati’s concerts this week and next, try to come to them both. As ever he is thoughtful and deep, taking the SCO into new realms. Across both concerts there is a sense of continuity and tradition with Vienna at its heart: the magnificent, musical city that was home to so many of these composers. Mahler loved Schubert, and Ticciati pairs their Fifth Symphonies. Webern pays tribute to Bach and Matthias Goerne, one of today’s finest exponents of lieder, performs Schubert songs orchestrated by Webern, Brahms and Reger.

Inspired by Chinese poetry, the music veers between earthly passions and eternal longings, ultimately dissolving into sublime nothingness.

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Photograph by Marco Borggreve

Ticciati conducts Berlioz

Sinfonia Concertante

Usher Hall Thursday 4 April 7.30pm

Queen’s Hall Thursday 11 April 7.30pm

WEBER Overture, Der Freischütz (10’) SCHUMANN Symphony No 1 ‘Spring’ (30’) BERLIOZ Harold in Italy (43’) ROBIN TICCIATI Conductor ANTOINE TAMESTIT Viola Sponsored by

If you loved Ticciati’s thrilling Symphonie Fantastique last Season, join him for Berlioz’s next symphonic masterpiece: Harold in Italy. A solo viola represents Byron’s wistful dreamer Childe Harold in a sequence of Italian musical adventures, climaxing in the swaggering Orgie des Brigands. A direct line connects Weber, Schumann and Berlioz – they were kindred spirits, key figures without whom the Age of Romanticism would never have ignited such a blaze of inspiration. Pre-Concert Talk: 6.30pm (free to ticket holders) Author and musicologist David Cairns talks about Berlioz’s Harold in Italy.

STRAUSS Sextet from Capriccio (10’) HAYDN Sinfonia Concertante (22’) WEBERN Five Pieces Op 5 (10’) BEETHOVEN Symphony No 2 (32’) ALEXANDER JANICZEK Violin/Director DAVID WATKIN Cello ROBIN WILLIAMS Oboe PETER WHELAN Bassoon

In the enviable position of writing most of his music for musicians that he knew well, Haydn peppered his work with wonderful solos – his Sinfonia Concertante is awash in them, offering select principals of the SCO a chance to shine. Janiczek has built a fascinating programme around it, with two short pieces from the 20th century; Strauss’ moonlit sextet is as expansive as Webern’s Five Pieces are tiny and dense. To close, a grand finale: the second symphony of Haydn’s own troublesome pupil.

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage – Italy by Joseph Mallord William Turner

Haydn portrait by Thomas Hardy

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britten 100 concerts 12

Britten 100: I

Chamber Concert

Britten 100: II

Queen’s Hall Thursday 18 April 7.30pm

Queen’s Hall Sunday 21 April 3pm

Queen’s Hall Saturday 27 April 7.30pm BIRTWISTLE Carmen arcadiae mechanicae perpetuum (10’)

PURCELL Suite from King Arthur (15’)

BRITTEN A Hymn to the Virgin (3’)

SCHUBERT Auf dem Strom (9’)

BRITTEN Prelude and Fugue for Strings (10’)

PÄRT Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten (8’)

SCHUBERT Two Impromptus D899: Nos 3 & 4 (13’)

PURCELL (arr. EGARR) Four Catches and a Rondeau (12’)

PURCELL My Heart is inditing (15’)

SCHUMANN Adagio and Allegro (10’)

BRITTEN Courtly Dances from Gloriana (10’)

RICHARD EGARR Conductor SCO CHORUS

BRITTEN Canticle III: Still Falls the Rain (12’)

2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, arguably the greatest and most successful British composer of the past century. The SCO has its own long and distinguished history of performing his music in the opera house as well as in concert. This week and next it features Britten in two very different contexts. Richard Egarr pairs him with the composer he treasured most: Henry Purcell. Two centuries separate them, but Britten loved – and learned from – the way Purcell set the English language to music. This lovely sequence of works by both men gives plenty of chances to relish them at their considerable best. Comparing Notes discussion group meets before this concert. See page 32 for details.

BRITTEN Folksongs (11’) JOHN MARK AINSLEY Tenor ALEC FRANK-GEMMILL Horn TOM POSTER Piano Britten was someone whose important musical passions were lifelong affairs. Schubert was one of his essential composers: he performed many of his songs with Peter Pears. John Mark Ainsley is a wonderful interpreter of both Britten and Schubert; he has one of the finest tenor voices, and also a true storyteller’s grasp of narrative and drama. In trio with Tom Poster and SCO Principal Horn, Alec Frank-Gemmill, he includes two real treats for tenor and horn – Auf dem Strom and Britten’s third canticle.

SUCKLING storm, rose, tiger (14’) BRITTEN Serenade for tenor, horn and strings (25’) MOZART Symphony No 40 (35’) GEORGE BENJAMIN Conductor JOHN MARK AINSLEY Tenor ALEC FRANK-GEMMILL Horn Britten was a powerful, Janus-like figure musically, always looking both to the past and the future. This concert celebrates that aspect of the great man by arriving at Mozart’s mighty 40th Symphony by way of two composers who have been associated with Britten’s Festival in Aldeburgh. Birtwistle’s brief Carmen arcadiae presents an intense, dramatic and punchy opening; and Britten surely would have admired Suckling’s absorbing and ambitious storm, rose, tiger. At the heart of the evening stands one of the greatest poetic masterpieces of all time; Britten’s own selection of verse on the theme of night and sleep, which he set with unforgettable brilliance. John Mark Ainsley, as fine an interpreter as you will find, is partnered by the SCO’s virtuoso Principal Horn, Alec Frank-Gemmill. Pre-Concert Talk: 6.30pm (free to ticket holders) Composer Martin Suckling talks about his work and Benjamin Britten. Comparing Notes discussion group meets before this concert. See page 32 for details.

Benjamin Britten Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Beethoven Seven

Levin plays Mozart

Usher Hall Thursday 2 May 7.30pm

Queen’s Hall Thursday 9 May 7.30pm

MENDELSSOHN Overture, The Fair Melusine (10’)

Dreams, dance, myths and fantasies pervade this concert, which culminates in Beethoven’s exhilarating powerhouse of a symphony, the Seventh. It is the perfect foil to Schumann’s lyrical concerto, interpreted here by one of the world’s leading pianists: Nelson Goerner is acclaimed as much for his emotional breadth as for the staggering facility and technique that free him to create such brilliant pianism.

SCHUMANN Piano Concerto (31’) BEETHOVEN Symphony No 7 (36’) EMMANUEL KRIVINE Conductor NELSON GOERNER Piano

REICHA Overture in D major (15’) MOZART Piano Concerto No 16 in D K451 (25’) SCHUBERT Symphony No 2 (29’) ROBERT LEVIN Conductor/Piano

Comparing Notes discussion group meets before this concert. See page 32 for details.

Mozart in 1784 and Schubert in 1814/15 – great years for great composers. Mozart was at the height of his popularity in Vienna, writing a stream of new works to perform at his very own showcase concerts. Schubert found his voice in 1814/15 in masterpieces such as Gretchen am Spinnrade; his second symphony has all the best qualities of youth. To open the concert, Levin introduces an unsung hero of the Romantic age. Reicha was a friend of Beethoven and Haydn, and influential teacher of Berlioz, Liszt and Gounod among others. Comparing Notes discussion group meets before this concert. See page 32 for details.

Beethoven’s Seventh is the perfect foil to Schumann’s lyrical concerto, interpreted here by one of the world’s leading pianists.

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Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Join our email list at www.sco.org.uk for the latest on SCO concerts, events, artists, CD releases and more…

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

SCO

Exploring Music

Word Power Books 43-45 West Nicolson Street, EH8 9DB Usher Hall Lothian Road, EH1 2EA

University of Edinburgh Open Studies

“I have thoroughly enjoyed Comparing Notes and have found them so informative and thought-provoking.”

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Do you enjoy a good chat about music? Comparing Notes is an opportunity to talk about music and share views with others in a relaxed and friendly environment. This Season, the pre-concert discussion group meets four times to chat about the music featured in that evening’s performance. Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions.

Exploring Music II JANUARY-MARCH 2013 A more in-depth course focusing on form, structure and musical language.

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THURSDAY 18 APRIL SATURDAY 27 APRIL THURSDAY 2 MAY THURSDAY 9 MAY

Exploring Music I SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 A general introduction.

SCO Connect is the education and outreach department of the SCO. With extensive Schools, Community and Lifelong Learning programmes, there are plenty of ways to get involved.

Comparing Notes

Photograph by Jen Owens

Connect

SCO Connect and the University of Edinburgh Open Studies have teamed up to provide two evening courses, led by composer Jennifer Martin. Each 10-week course guides you through music performed in the SCO Season and introduces you to the world of the Orchestra through interviews with key artists, ticket offers and rehearsal visits. Cost £85/£56 concession To book, call Open Studies on 0131 650 4400 (from August) or visit www.ed.ac.uk/openstudies

“It opened my eyes and ears to music from a different and better perspective.” PARTICIPANT 2011

PARTICIPANT 2011

Follow SCO Connect For photos, blogs and films about SCO Connect’s programme follow us on: www.sco.org.uk/experience/blog facebook.com/scottishchamberorchestra twitter.com/scomusic

To book a free place, call SCO Connect on 0131 478 8353 or info@sco.org.uk

I now listen to music in a different way and get more out of it. Participant 2011

vimeo.com/scomusic youtube.com/scomusic

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

how to book

ticket prices

seating plans

0131 668 2019

season 2012/13 concerts

queen’s hall clerk street, edinburgh eh8 9jg

www.thequeenshall.net queen’s hall box office, clerk street, edinburgh eh8 9jg 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday (open until the end of the interval on performance days). All major credit cards, except American Express, accepted. Postage charge of 60p where applicable. The Queen’s Hall Box Office sells tickets for all SCO concerts in Edinburgh, including those at the Usher Hall.

I £29

II £25

III £20

IV £14.50

V £10

All single tickets, including discounts, are on sale from 7 May 2012. Subscription bookings are taken from 21 March 2012. IV

new year in vienna concert I £29

II £25

III £20

IV £15

In aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care (No discounts available)

usher hall box office, lothian road, edinburgh eh1 2ea

family concert

10am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday (and on concert evenings).

Tickets: £12 / Senior Citizens: £10 U16s, U26s, students and unemployed people: £5 Family Ticket (2 adults, 2 children): £28

Please note An allocation of tickets for SCO concerts at the Usher Hall is available from the Usher Hall Box Office in person, by phone and online from 7 May 2012. Tickets are also available from the Queen’s Hall Box Office. 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 time of going to press. The SCO does, however, reserve the right to change dates, artists or programmes if necessary.

III II III

III

I III II

III

STAGE GRAND CIRCLE

IV V

IV III

GALLERY

ticket discounts (all concerts except New Year in Vienna) Senior Citizens – £2 off standard prices. Under 26s, students and unemployed people £5 for any ticket. Under 16s – Free if accompanied by a paying adult. Maximum of 2 free children’s tickets per adult ticket. Additional children £5 each.

II I

II III IV

STALLS

III I

STALLS V IV

III

STAGE

Tickets: £12 / Senior Citizens: £10 U26s, students and unemployed people: £5 Chamber Concerts – stalls only

Telephone and online bookings carry a £1 transaction fee. Tickets for collection are available from the box office from one hour before the performance.

V £10

III

0131 228 1155 www.usherhall.co.uk

All major credit cards accepted.

V IV

chamber concerts tickets for usher hall concerts only also available at:

usher hall lothian road, edinburgh eh1 2ea

UPPER CIRCLE

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.

Wheelchair accommodation is available in both the Stalls and Grand Circle (Grand Circle accessed by a lift) with level access toilets on each level.

Guide dogs are welcome.

An induction loop is fitted for people with hearing difficulties.

Please notify the Box Office when booking.

(Excludes Family Concert – Under 16s £5 each).

People with a disability – 50% off standard ticket prices for people with a disability and a carer. Group discounts – Groups of 6 or more save 20% off standard ticket prices. School groups – Teachers and/or accompanying adults go free when bringing a school group. For more information, contact SCO Connect on 0131 478 8353 or info@sco.org.uk

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

sco subscription

subscription booking form

The SCO offers completely flexible subscriptions – simply choose any four or more Season 2012/13 concerts*. As well as substantial discounts on regular ticket prices, you can enjoy priority booking, special events and many other exclusive benefits. why take a subscription? • Save money Save up to 40% (45% for seniors) on single ticket prices – the more you book, the more you save.

how to book a subscription by post • Tick the concerts you wish to attend on the Booking Form. • Select your preferred Seating Area (e.g. Stalls, Gallery, Grand Circle, etc) and Price Band (I, II, III or IV).

• Free choice of concerts Select any four or more Season 2012/13 concerts.*

• Calculate the cost of your subscription (see page 38) and complete the grid on the Booking Form.

• Best seats Priority booking and the best available seats in the area of your choice and, wherever possible, you can keep your seats from year to year.

• Add on any of the New Year in Vienna, Family or Chamber Concerts you wish to attend.

• Change your mind If a date becomes inconvenient, swap your tickets for another Edinburgh Season 2012/13 concert (24 hours’ notice required). • Spread the cost Pay by Direct Debit in four instalments. • Save on SCO CDs Receive a £5 CD voucher. • Free concert A personal invitation to the annual Subscriber concert and reception. • SCO news Receive the SCO’s newsletter three times a year. * Season 2012/13 concerts are marked: 12

• Complete your contact, seating and payment details on the Booking Form. • If you would like to pay in four instalments by Direct Debit, please tick the appropriate box and we will send you a Direct Debit form. • Send the Booking Form to: SCO Subscription, Queen’s Hall Box Office, FREEPOST EH3185, Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JG (no stamp required). by phone Call the Queen’s Hall Box Office on 0131 668 2019 (10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday) with your selected concerts and credit or debit card details.

Title Address

Postcode

Please note Chamber Concerts, New Year in Vienna and the Family Concert cannot be included in a subscription, but you can book them at the same time as your subscription. We regret that tickets, including subscription tickets, are non-refundable.

Telephone (eve)

Telephone (day) Email important – please complete!

Join our mailing list for the latest SCO news about concerts, education events, special offers, recordings, behind-the-scenes information and other developments. We will not pass your details to any third parties. Please indicate how you would like to receive news: Monthly e-newsletter By post Please tick boxes below to indicate your choice of concerts: Thurs 4 Oct (UH) Thurs 11 Oct (UH) Sat 20 Oct (QH) Thurs 25 Oct (QH) Thurs 15 Nov (UH) Thurs 29 Nov (QH)

Chamber Concerts Number of concerts

Thurs 6 Dec (QH) Sat 15 Dec (QH) Thurs 10 Jan (QH) Thurs 17 Jan (QH) Sat 26 Jan (QH) Thurs 31 Jan (QH)

Thurs 21 Feb (QH) Thurs 28 Feb (QH) Thurs 7 Mar (QH) Sat 16 Mar (QH) Thurs 4 Apr (UH) Thurs 11 Apr (QH)

Sun 25 Nov

Sun 21 Apr

Number of people at standard price

Number of people at senior price

Price band

Seating Area (e.g. stalls, gallery)

Total Price

UH:

–

Chamber Concerts New Year in Vienna

Thurs 18 Apr (QH) Sat 27 Apr (QH) Thurs 2 May (UH) Thurs 9 May (QH)

QH:

2012/13 Season

Family Concert

Surname

Forename

– –

how do you wish to pay? I enclose a cheque, payable to ‘Queen’s Hall Box Office’.

Box Office Postage Fee:

£0.60

total

Please debit my Mastercard/Visa/debit card (delete as appropriate) Card Number Expiry Date

Start Date

Issue Number (debit card only)

Security Code (last three digits on signature strip)

Signature I wish to spread the cost of subscription over four months by Direct Debit. Please send me a Direct Debit form. Please return this form to: SCO Subscription, Queen’s Hall Box Office, FREEPOST EH3185, Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JG (no stamp required) 36

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

subscription prices No. of Concerts 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior Standard Senior

III

£98.60 £92.80 £123.25 £116.00 £147.90 £139.20 £172.55 £162.40 £185.60 £174.00 £208.80 £195.75 £232.00 £217.50 £255.20 £239.25 £261.00 £243.60 £282.75 £263.90 £304.50 £284.20 £326.25 £304.50 £324.80 £301.60 £345.10 £320.45 £365.40 £339.30 £385.70 £358.15 £377.00 £348.00 £395.85 £365.40 £382.80 £350.90

£85.00 £80.00 £106.25 £100.00 £127.50 £120.00 £148.75 £140.00 £160.00 £150.00 £180.00 £168.75 £200.00 £187.50 £220.00 £206.25 £225.00 £210.00 £243.75 £227.50 £262.50 £245.00 £281.25 £262.50 £280.00 £260.00 £297.50 £276.25 £315.00 £292.50 £332.50 £308.75 £325.00 £300.00 £341.25 £315.00 £330.00 £302.50

£68.00 £64.00 £85.00 £80.00 £102.00 £96.00 £119.00 £112.00 £128.00 £120.00 £144.00 £135.00 £160.00 £150.00 £176.00 £165.00 £180.00 £168.00 £195.00 £182.00 £210.00 £196.00 £225.00 £210.00 £224.00 £208.00 £238.00 £221.00 £252.00 £234.00 £266.00 £247.00 £260.00 £240.00 £273.00 £252.00 £264.00 £242.00

£49.30 £46.40 £61.63 £58.00 £73.95 £69.60 £86.28 £81.20 £92.80 £87.00 £104.40 £97.88 £116.00 £108.75 £127.60 £119.63 £130.50 £121.80 £141.38 £131.95 £152.25 £142.10 £163.13 £152.25 £162.40 £150.80 £172.55 £160.23 £182.70 £169.65 £192.85 £179.08 £188.50 £174.00 £197.93 £182.70 £191.40 £175.45

Edinburgh Concert Season 2012/13

Save 15% (20%)

thank you

play your part

The SCO gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Government, local authorities, corporate sponsors, Patrons, 250 Society members and the many trusts and foundations that help to fund its programming, education projects and touring.

There are many ways in which you can support the work of the SCO and help us bring live classical music to people of all ages throughout Scotland. We invite individuals to become SCO Patrons, join the SCO 250 Society, or to consider making a gift to the Orchestra in their will. We offer companies a range of sponsorship and in-kind support opportunities and a flexible Corporate Membership scheme with regular hospitality and dedicated account management.

principal sponsor Virgin Money Save 20% (25%)

benefactor Dunard Fund sponsors & corporate supporters

Save 25% (30%)

Save 30% (35%)

Aberdeen Asset Management Balmoral Hotel Caledonian Brewing Company Capital Solutions Chatham Skoda Dawsons Music John Lewis Edinburgh Linn Records Lumison Radio Forth MacDonald Roxburghe Hotel Miller Group Notion Music Roland Scottish Council for Development and Industry State Street Thom Micro Systems

For further information on how you can support the SCO, visit www.sco.org.uk or contact the Sponsorship & Fundraising Department on 0131 478 8344 or sponsorship@sco.org.uk. scottish chamber orchestra HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay PATRON Robin Ticciati PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR Joseph Swensen CONDUCTOR EMERITUS Sir Peter Maxwell Davies COMPOSER LAUREATE Richard Egarr ASSOCIATE ARTIST Alexander Janiczek ASSOCIATE ARTIST Donald MacDonald CBE CHAIRMAN Roy McEwan OBE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Save 35% (40%)

4 Royal Terrace Edinburgh EH7 5AB

Tel: 0131 557 6800 Fax: 0131 557 6933 Email: info@sco.org.uk www.sco.org.uk

A charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039. Company registration No. SC75079.

Save 40% (45%)

Please note that all timings (shown in brackets) are approximate and do not include intervals or platform changes.

Large-print, Braille and Talking Notes versions of this brochure are available. Call 0131 557 6802. keep in touch Sign up to our email list at www.sco.org.uk, or join our postal mailing list by calling 0131 557 6802 or writing to SCO, FREEPOST EH457, 4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB Read our blog www.sco.org.uk for artist interviews, videos, photos and more Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/scomusic Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/scottishchamberorchestra Watch us on YouTube www.youtube.com/SCOmusic

enjoy more music – spend less! Book an SCO Subscription – from just four concerts As well as substantial discounts on regular tickets prices, you can enjoy priority booking, special events and many other exclusive benefits. An SCO subscription is completely flexible – you choose the concerts you like – and benefit from huge savings if you book for four or more concerts. You can save up to 45% or you can book 16 concerts for less than it costs to go to 15 – you can’t beat value like that!