2O18/19 EDINBURGH CONCERT SEASON sco.org.uk
FRANÇOIS
LELEUX NICOLA
BENEDETTI BERTRAND
CHAMAYOU CAROLYN
SAMPSON VILDE
FRANG NICOLAS
ALTSTAEDT KRISTIAN
BEZUIDENHOUT PEKKA
KUUSISTO
To book tickets sco.org.uk
A very warm welcome to our
2O18/19 EDINBURGH CONCERT SEASON Visiting artists and musical stories weave their way through our concerts this Season as we welcome a host of exceptional international conductors and soloists – friends both old and new – to make music with our wonderful Orchestra. Concerts span five centuries from the 17th Century music of Purcell and Biber, through an exploration of Mendelssohn’s most glorious works, some wellknown and some a little less familiar; Nordic music from Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen and Stenhammar; a taste of France including two concerts marking the 150th anniversary of the death of the great Hector Berlioz; and of course Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. There is also brand new music from our Associate Composer Martin Suckling and a true contemporary classic, Sir James MacMillan’s Veni, Veni, Emmanuel with the incomparable Scottish percussionist Colin Currie, helping us to celebrate MacMillan’s 60th birthday. We welcome back many old friends including Principal Guest Conductor Emmanuel Krivine, Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen, Richard Egarr, Andrew Manze, John Storgårds and Francesco Piemontesi. We renew our acquaintance with some quite exceptional musicians including conductors Enrique Mazzola, Josep Pons, Clemens Schuldt, Duncan Ward and Karina Canellakis, pianist Paul Lewis and the phenomenal trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger. Artists making their debuts with the SCO include the remarkable Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang performing Beethoven’s concerto; Baroque and Classical specialists Bernard Labadie and Reinhard Goebel; choral expert Laurence Equilbey and the brilliant cellist and conductor Nicolas Altstaedt.
We are particularly excited to welcome back the maverick Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto, Scotland’s favourite violinist Nicola Benedetti, the wonderful pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout and the extraordinary oboist and conductor François Leleux – all of whom take to the stage as both soloists and directors. François Leleux is one of a number of featured artists appearing throughout the Season. He will play and conduct three separate programmes including a performance of Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Eté with another of our featured artists, the captivating soprano Carolyn Sampson, who returns later in the season to sing Purcell and Handel with Richard Egarr. Our third featured artist is French pianist Bertrand Chamayou who makes two appearances with Beethoven and Ravel. The SCO also has many remarkable soloists within the Orchestra, and this Season we can enjoy performances from no less than six of them. An SCO Season would not be complete, of course, without the SCO Chorus, expertly prepared by Chorus Director Gregory Batsleer. They perform Haydn’s The Seasons, Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht and MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross conducted by the composer. For our Season Finale, they join the Orchestra for one of the most popular and beautiful of all works – Fauré’s Requiem, conducted by Emmanuel Krivine, who completes our French theme with Berlioz’s extraordinary Symphonie Fantastique. I do hope that you enjoy discovering our new Season and I very much look forward to seeing you at our concerts. Gavin Reid Chief Executive Scottish Chamber Orchestra
2O18/19 EDINBURGH CONCERTS September 2018 to May 2019 BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO HAYDN OBOE CONCERTO HAYDN THE SEASONS McLEOD NORDIC FIRE MOZART WITH BEZUIDENHOUT SCHUMANN CELLO CONCERTO CHAMBER SUNDAY BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO 4 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM TALES OF MENDELSSOHN II TALES OF MENDELSSOHN III SCO CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT MOZART HORN CONCERTO BERLIOZ LES NUITS D’ÉTÉ CHAMBER SUNDAY -
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SIR SCALLYWAG AND THE GOLDEN UNDERPANTS 21 MACMILLAN BIRTHDAY CONCERT 22 MOZART WITH PIEMONTESI 23 BRILLIANCE OF THE BAROQUE 23 SIBELIUS SYMPHONIES 6 & 7 24 RAVEL LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN 25 CHAMBER SUNDAY 26 SERENADES WITH LELEUX 26 MOZART WITH BENEDETTI 27 RAVEL PIANO CONCERTO 28 HAYDN AND GRUBER TRUMPET CONCERTOS 29 DOVE ACCORDION CONCERTO 30 FAURÉ & BERLIOZ 31
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BOOKING SECTION
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Additional Event (e.g. Chamber Sundays, Chorus Concert, Family Concert and New Year Concert).
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François Leleux – If you are a woodwind fan, then you must experience François Leleux. Hear him in three Season Concerts and a Chamber Sunday.
Vilde Frang – Passion and expression run in the blood of this young Norwegian violinist. Be sure to see this star in Scotland!
Emmanuel Krivine – Krivine enriches the colourful French finale to the Season with Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Fauré’s Requiem.
Bertrand Chamayou – This remarkable musician presents Beethoven’s deeply affecting Fourth Piano Concerto.
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Kristian Bezuidenhout – The notable and exciting pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout directs a joyous Mozart programme.
Pekka Kuusisto – With the extraordinary Finn Pekka Kuusisto at the helm, this concert is guaranteed to be awe-inspiring.
Håkan Hardenberger – Swedish virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger performs Haydn alongside the hugely fun Busking.
Nicola Benedetti – In demand across the globe, Benedetti returns home to direct two of Mozart’s Violin Concertos.
Laurence Equilbey – Enter the world of Mendelssohn’s folklore and fantasy with choral expert Laurence Equilbey.
Sir James MacMillan – Two of MacMillan’s greatest works conducted by the composer himself as a 60th Birthday treat.
Carolyn Sampson – The dazzling soprano celebrates the 150th Anniversary of Berlioz’s death with his sensuous Les Nuits d’Eté.
Karina Canellakis – The talented American conducts Bach’s E Major Violin Concerto played by SCO Leader Benjamin Marquise Gilmore.
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A JOURNEY THROUGH THE NATURAL BY SIMON THOMPSON They say that when it comes to evoking a feeling of place, there’s nothing like your sense of smell to transport you somewhere; and that’s probably true if it’s somewhere you’ve already been. But when it comes to conjuring up kingdoms and landscapes that you don’t already know, or that perhaps never existed, there’s surely nothing that can hold a candle to music. Not many of us have visited the Arctic Circle, for example, but listening to the icy strings of Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony (“pure cold spring water”, as the composer described it) or the craggy landscapes of his Seventh transports us straight there. Nielsen also evoked that elemental vastness in the great arch of his Helios Overture, and Haydn’s The Seasons is full of simple delight in the beauty of nature. We might smile at the naivety of his “mushrooms in the earthy forest”, but his pastoral music nevertheless has the power to transport us to a more innocent time. And isn’t that feeling of escaping from our mundane, everyday lives one of the reasons why we love great music? Mendelssohn, on whom the Orchestra has a bit of a spotlight this year, was doubly gifted at this. Not only could he evoke the vastness of the natural world – can the sea ever have sounded so limitless as it does in the opening of his Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage? – but at a stroke he could conjure up worlds that never were, be it in the rippling waves that shelter the mermaid Melusina, or the gossamer wings of the fairy music in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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Mendelssohn could also plunge into the dark in the macabre spiritual melodrama of Die erste Walpurgisnacht, but not even he could match the blood-curdling horror of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, with its tale of obsession, witchcraft and drug-fuelled murder. And maybe it’s that sense of transporting us out of ourselves that is at the heart of music’s power to move. We can look at today’s world and find it overwhelming, sometimes even frightening; but music helps us to see that others have been there already and have found ways through it. Music has the power to let you discover worlds beyond your experience or imagining. Where will you let this Season take you? Simon Thompson Music Journalist for Bachtrack and Seen & Heard International
Thursday 27 September 2018 Usher Hall – 7.30pm
BEETHOVEN
VIOLIN CONCERTO PLAYED BY VILDE FRANG THE SUN RISING AND SETTING OVER THE AEGEAN SEA WAS INSPIRATION FOR NIELSEN’S HELIOS: “SILENCE AND DARKNESS, THE SUN RISES WITH A JOYOUS SONG OF PRAISE, IT WANDERS ITS GOLDEN WAY AND SINKS QUIETLY INTO THE SEA.”
NIELSEN Helios Overture (12’) SIBELIUS Symphony No 3 in C, Op 52 (31’) BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D (42’) ––––– ENRIQUE MAZZOLA – Conductor VILDE FRANG – Violin What a way to open a Season! A melting pot of musical, artistic and creative wealth delivered by Enrique Mazzola – an Italian full of passion and life, and a happy, sunny character. Sibelius’ Third Symphony oozes with desperate intensity while Nielsen’s Helios is a vivid musical evocation of sunshine shimmering and glittering on the sea. The warmth continues with one of Norway’s brightest stars Vilde Frang, who joins for Beethoven’s noble Violin Concerto.
Under 26 – £6
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ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST VIBRANT SOLOISTS
François Leleux –
FRANÇOIS LELEUX Featured Artist Unbridled sensuousness. Exceptional expressive power. And a musical personality that’s way larger than life. French oboist and conductor François Leleux is an astonishingly charismatic musician. He couples an exuberant enthusiasm for music with an intense focus on telling its stories. His performances enthral, surprise and delight. As an oboist, he is one of the world’s most vibrant, extrovert soloists, with an uncanny ability to charm and captivate his listeners. As a conductor, he’s renowned for his inspiring insights and musical energy. François Leleux is a very special artist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra this Season, directing and performing as soloist in three contrasting orchestral concerts, and joining SCO Principals for a chamber recital. Experience Leleux’s irrepressible passion and joy for yourself at these very special concerts.
FRANÇOIS LELEUX IS A FABULOUS MUSICIAN AND I KNOW HE WILL PUT THE SCO WIND SECTION THROUGH ITS PACES, AND BRING A REFRESHING CHANGE. ALL THE CONCERTS WITH HIM ARE AN EXCITING PROSPECT. Rosie Staniforth
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Rosie Staniforth SCO Sub-Principal Oboe – Oboe, cor anglais and oboe d’amore. This will be Rosie’s 20th Season with the SCO.
François Leleux and the SCO – French oboist and conductor François Leleux is quite simply one of today’s most charismatic, captivating musicians. With a larger-than-life musical personality, and searing musical insights to match, he brings an uninhibited enthusiasm to all he plays or conducts – telling his music’s stories with brilliant clarity and sparkling vitality.
Thursday 4 October 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
HAYDN
OBOE CONCERTO PLAYED AND CONDUCTED BY FRANÇOIS LELEUX WHAT AN OBOIST FRANÇOIS LELEUX IS! THE SOUND HE MAKES IS UNMISTAKABLE: IMMENSE, VOLUPTUOUS, DARK AND OILY. HIS MUSICAL ENERGY IS ALERT AND TOTALLY UNINHIBITED. The Herald
HAYDN Symphony No 82 ‘The Bear’ (24’) Oboe Concerto in C (23’) SCHUBERT (arr WEBERN) German Dances (09’) BRAHMS Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn (17’) ––––– FRANÇOIS LELEUX – Conductor / Oboe Earthy folk tunes and foot-tapping dances from olden times pervade François Leleux’s gutsy first concert of this Season. Joseph Haydn delighted Parisian audiences with the country carnival atmosphere of his Symphony No 82, and its vivid images of bears jigging to rustic bagpipes are what gave the symphony its nickname. Likewise, Anton Webern had a lot of fun with his witty orchestral reimagining of six spirited German Dances by Schubert. Scholarship suggests that the C Major Oboe Concerto may not be by Haydn, but its singing melodies and fizzing exuberance are the ideal match for Leleux’s animated playing all the same. He closes with the endless melodic inventiveness of Brahms’ ‘St Anthony’ Variations.
––––– MEET THE ARTIST INSIGHTS: 6.30pm François Leleux in conversation with SCO Chief Executive Gavin Reid.
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Thursday 11 October 2018 Usher Hall – 7.30pm ––––– Proudly sponsored by
HAYDN
THE SEASONS WITH SCO CHORUS AS NEWBIES TO THE ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS EXPERIENCE, WE DID NOT REALLY KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. WE WERE COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY BY THE PERFORMANCE, THE ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM THAT EACH MUSICIAN PUT IN TO CREATE A BREATHTAKING DISPLAY. Audience member
Under 18s – Free
HAYDN The Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten) (134’) Sung in German ––––– BERNARD LABADIE – Conductor LUCY CROWE – Soprano ANDREW STAPLES – Tenor NEAL DAVIES – Bass Baritone ––––– SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director Haydn’s own story of quiet revolution is overshadowed by the now fabled accounts of his contemporaries Mozart and Beethoven – their tortured artistic struggles, their lives touched by drama and tragedy. Haydn was a natural, hard-working person, who strived to meet the many deadlines for commissions ordered by his patrons. The Seasons depicts many aspects of rural life through the four seasons of the year. It touches on friendship and love, success and hardship, and reaping the rewards of manual labour. There are also celebrations of wine and a hunting chorus. The more solemn ‘Ode to Toil’ caused Haydn to remark that, though he had been industrious all his life, he had never before been called upon to write music in praise of industry.
––––– MEET THE ARTIST INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
Chorus Director Gregory Batsleer in conversation with Tenor Andrew Staples.
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McLEOD NORDIC FIRE
MOZART WITH BEZUIDENHOUT
WORLD PREMIERE CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH SWENSEN
PLAYED AND DIRECTED BY KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT
––––– Kindly supported by Donald and Louise MacDonald ––––– Thursday 25 October 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
––––– Kindly supported by Colin and Sue Buchan ––––– Thursday 1 November 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm CPE BACH Symphony No 2 in E-flat, Wq 183 MOZART Symphony No 29 in A, K201 (24’) Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K491 (30’) Rondo in A major, K386 (07’) ––––– KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT – Director / Harpsichord / Piano
GRIEG Holberg Suite (21’) McLEOD Viola Concerto ‘Nordic Fire’ World Premiere (27’) BEETHOVEN (arr SWENSEN) Quartet No 14 in C-sharp minor, Op 131 (38’) ––––– JOSEPH SWENSEN – Conductor JANE ATKINS – Viola Energy, light, colour and the magic of the Aurora Borealis form the inspiration behind John McLeod’s ‘Nordic Fire’ – a new Viola Concerto written for the Orchestra and the brilliant Jane Atkins. Grieg links Nordic and Scottish, having a great-grandfather born here before emigrating to Norway. Joseph Swensen has a great love for Beethoven’s late quartets, rearranging the parts for the full string section. He explains: “Personally, I think the late quartets are an example of how Beethoven’s mind started evolving at its own relatively unchecked pace following the onset of his deafness and resulting isolation. That evolution, unencumbered by any musical distractions or influences, sped up dramatically as his hearing deteriorated further. In my view, his mind and imagination were practically in the 20th Century by the time he wrote Op 131, even though it was actually written in 1826!”
For Kristian Bezuidenhout, “Mozart is the most important musical figure in my life: there’s absolutely no question about that.” No question, either, that it is a joy to welcome the acclaimed pianist and director back to the SCO. He pairs a flamboyant, joyous symphony by his idol with arguably his most emotionally complex piano concerto. Opening the concert is a brilliant rarity by a composer Mozart himself adored: CPE Bach, JS Bach’s extrovert, second eldest son. Filled with a devil-may-care wildness, explosive drama and sheer panache, this is music that never fails to thrill and surprise.
THE NIGHT BELONGED TO BEZUIDENHOUT FOR HIS STUPENDOUSLY NEEDLE-SHARP CHARACTERISATIONS OF MOZART, WITH THE SCO WELDED TO THE DISCREET DIRECTION OF THE SOLOIST. The Herald 15
Next Piano Concerto Concert Kristian Bezuidenhout – One of today’s most notable and exciting keyboard artists. 13
SCHUMANN CELLO CONCERTO PLAYED AND CONDUCTED BY NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT ––––– Proudly sponsored and match funded by
CHAMBER SUNDAY ––––– Sunday 18 November 2018 Queen’s Hall – 3.00pm MOZART Divertimento No 3 in B-flat, K439b, for 2 Basset Horns & Bassoon (08’) HINDEMITH Kleine Kammermusik (16’)
––––– Thursday 8 November 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm WAGNER Siegfried Idyll (18’) SCHUMANN Cello Concerto (25’) SUCKLING Meditation (after Donne) World Premiere (10’) BEETHOVEN Symphony No 8 (26’) ––––– NICOLAS ALTSTAEDT – Conductor / Cello Marking the centenary of the Armistice, this special event represents a musical response to the legacy of war and the feelings of commemoration, love, loss, joy and peace it brings. Suckling’s Meditation is bound to be intriguing, with the inclusion of bells pealing from across Scotland. With the added luxury of one of the Season’s headline artists, Nicolas Altstaedt, a highly creative director and cellist in Schumann’s hugely expressive Concerto, the programme opens with Wagner’s beautiful lullaby and is completed with a work of brightness, optimism and good humour – Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony.
––––– COMPOSER INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
Martin Suckling explores his new work Meditation (after Donne).
––––– Collection in aid of Poppyscotland.
I AM INVOLVED IN MANKIND, AND THEREFORE NEVER SEND TO KNOW FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS; IT TOLLS FOR THEE. John Donne Meditation XVII (1624)
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STRAUSS Sonatina No 2 in E-flat ‘Happy Workshop’ (37’) ––––– GORDON BRAGG – Conductor RCS STEVENSON WINDS ––––– SCO WIND SOLOISTS ALISON MITCHELL – Flute ROBIN WILLIAMS – Oboe MAXIMILIANO MARTÍN – Clarinet WILLIAM STAFFORD – Basset Horn ALISON GREEN – Contrabassoon ALEC FRANK-GEMMILL – Horn HARRY JOHNSTONE – Horn Two magnificent wind ensembles; three exhilarating masterpieces from the wind repertoire. The SCO’s own eminent Wind Soloists join forces with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s crack Stevenson Winds for an afternoon of high spirits and playful charm under conductor Gordon Bragg.
Gordon Bragg Conductor – Equally at home on the podium as he is as SCO Sub-Principal Second Violin.
Alison Green SCO Sub-Principal Bassoon – A key figure in many SCO Connect creative learning projects.
BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO No 4 CONDUCTED BY EMMANUEL KRIVINE – PLAYED BY BERTRAND CHAMAYOU ––––– We are delighted to dedicate this concert to our Edinburgh Patrons in recognition of all their support of the SCO’s work. ––––– Thursday 22 November 2018 Usher Hall – 7.30pm MENDELSSOHN Overture, The Fair Melusina (10’)
Emmanuel Krivine – Emmanuel Krivine brings an abundance of French panache to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
BERTRAND CHAMAYOU HAS MASTERED AN EXTENSIVE REPERTOIRE DISPLAYING STRIKING ASSURANCE, IMAGINATION, ARTISTIC APPROACH AND REMARKABLE CONSISTENCY IN ALL OF HIS PERFORMANCES.
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No 4 in G (34’) SCHUMANN Symphony No 4 in D minor (revised version of 1851) (28’) ––––– EMMANUEL KRIVINE – Conductor BERTRAND CHAMAYOU – Piano
Bertrand Chamayou
– Chamayou from Toulouse has been called a ‘prince of pianists’.
The brilliant French pianist from Toulouse, Bertrand Chamayou, noted for his technical wizardry and remarkable musicianship, is the soloist in the most lyrical of Beethoven’s piano concertos. The Fourth combines intimacy with energy, serenity with wit, and is the ideal match for Chamayou’s striking imagination and poetic emotions. SCO Principal Guest Conductor Emmanuel Krivine concludes the concert with the pure-hearted music of Schumann, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Lilting, soaring and majestic, and surging with abundant, virtuosic life, the Fourth Symphony is hardly indicative of the shattered spiritual condition of the composer at this point in his tragic career. Schumann once wrote: “Music – so different from painting – is the art which we enjoy the most in company with others”. Come and share in what promises to be one of the highlights of the Season.
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Thursday 29 November 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
TALES OF MENDELSSOHN I
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM WITH SCO CHORUS MENDELSSOHN’S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM BEAUTIFULLY CAPTURES THE MAGIC AND FRIVOLITY OF THE ETHEREAL WORLD SHAKESPEARE CREATED IN HIS PLAY ABOUT UNEXPECTED TURNS IN LOVE AND LIFE.
MENDELSSOHN A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Incidental Music (40’) Die erste Walpurgisnacht (36’) ––––– LAURENCE EQUILBEY – Conductor HILARY SUMMERS – Contralto MARTIN MITTERRUTZNER – Tenor HUW MONTAGUE RENDALL – Baritone ––––– SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director Mendelssohn’s enchanting music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream has to be the most famous and beloved Shakespearean score of all time, but what is a ‘Walpurgisnacht’? Think Halloween crossed with Beltane. In April, people across Northern and Eastern Europe dress up as witches and wizards, light bonfires, feast and are jolly. Mendelssohn celebrates by setting Goethe’s tale of ancient Druids outwitting the intolerant local Christians and, quite simply has a lot of choral fun with it.
––––– CONNECT INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
Mischief and Magic. Storyteller Anna Lehr and SCO Flute Brontë Hudnott invite concertgoers of all ages into Mendelssohn’s imagined worlds with timeless tales and musical magic. Presented in collaboration with the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
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TALES OF MENDELSSOHN II
TALES OF MENDELSSOHN III
CONDUCTED BY DANIELE RUSTIONI
CONDUCTED BY KARINA CANELLAKIS
––––– Thursday 6 December 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
––––– Kindly supported by
ROSSINI Overture, L’Italiana in Algeri (08’)
––––– Thursday 13 December 2018 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
RESPIGHI Ancient Airs & Dances: Suite I (16’) MENDELSSOHN Two Concert Pieces, Opp 113, 114 (16’) Symphony No 1 in C minor (32’) ––––– DANIELE RUSTIONI – Conductor MAXIMILIANO MARTÍN – Clarinet WILLIAM STAFFORD – Basset Horn Meet the brilliant Italian conductor Daniele Rustioni. At 34, he has already made starry debuts at opera houses and orchestras in the USA and Europe to huge acclaim. He brings great tunes, life and good humour. Rossini’s overture is pure entertainment. Respighi’s suite is a chocolate box of miniature masterpieces inspired by bestselling Renaissance songs and dances. Mendelssohn’s First Symphony was encored so much at its London premiere that the evening went on and on. The SCO’s own fine clarinettists step into the spotlight to complete the evening with a brace of duos guaranteed to bring a smile.
SCO AMERICA
MENDELSSOHN Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (08’) BACH Violin Concerto in E (19’) BACH (arr WEBERN) Ricercare from A Musical Offering (08’) MENDELSSOHN Symphony No 5 in D ‘Reformation’ (27’) ––––– KARINA CANELLAKIS – Conductor BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin Karina Canellakis pairs Mendelssohn with his idol, the man whose music he described as “The greatest music in the world”: JS Bach. We hear contrasting sides of Bach: the brilliant and courtly concerto composer in his 30s, then the visionary, astounding master in his last years. Mendelssohn’s exhilarating and celebratory symphony makes a fine climax to the evening. Written to mark the 300th anniversary of a key date in The Reformation, nonetheless it is the inspiration of Bach that you hear throughout.
THE FIRST TIME I PLAYED WITH THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, I FELT AN IMMEDIATE RAPPORT, BOTH MUSICALLY AND PERSONALLY, AND IT’S GROWN STRONGER EVER SINCE. Maximiliano Martín – The SCO’s Spanish clarinettist is also in high demand as an international soloist.
Maximiliano Martín – CONNECT INSIGHTS: Ut enim ad veniam, quis 6.30pm –nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut Pre-concert performance aliquip ex eaMusic commodo by St Mary’s consequat laboris. School, Edinburgh.
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore SCO Leader
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SCO CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT
NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT
––––– Thursday 20 December 2018 Greyfriars Kirk – 7.30pm
––––– Tuesday 1 January 2019 Usher Hall – 3.00pm Programme to include: SMETANA The Bartered Bride Overture and Three Dances ˇ DVORÁK Slavonic Dance in A major, Op 46 No 5 Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op 72 No 7 STRAUSS The Blue Danube Waltz Radetsky March Tritsch-Tratsch Polka ––––– DUNCAN WARD – Conductor STEPHANIE GONLEY – Violin Welcome 2019 in sparkling style with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra! This New Year’s Day concert has all your favourite Viennese Waltzes and Polkas from the Strauss family, guaranteed to give you a skip in your step to start the year feeling upbeat.
Programme to include music by: Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and John Tavener ––––– SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director The annual Christmas Concert with the SCO Chorus in Greyfriars Kirk has quickly become a highlight of Edinburgh’s festive calendar, and sold out in advance last year. Be sure to book your tickets quickly! Included in the programme are Parts 1 – 6 of Rachmaninov’s Vespers. These are a powerful spiritual statement, with a radiance that carries one away to blissful places then gently back again. The programme will also include other works from the Orthodox tradition alongside medieval and contemporary British carols.
THE SCO CHORUS BROUGHT A BRIGHT INTENSITY TO THIS SUPERB COLLECTION OF MUSICAL CHRISTMAS ICONS. Bachtrack 22
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Next SCO Chorus Concert
New Year’s Day would simply not be complete without your favourite Viennese Waltzes and Polkas, including The Blue Danube, Radetsky March and Tritsch-Tratsch Polka. Along with some favourite violin solos from the exquisite SCO Leader Stephanie Gonley, young British conductor Duncan Ward adds a Bohemian twist with folk-inspired music from Smetana’s sparkling comic opera The Bartered Bride and Slavonic Dances by Dvořák.
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 Marie Curie
MOZART HORN CONCERTO No 4 CONDUCTED BY REINHARD GOEBEL – PLAYED BY ALEC FRANK-GEMMILL ––––– Thursday 17 January 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm WA MOZART Symphony No 31 in D, K297 ‘Paris’ (17’) LEOPOLD MOZART Sinfonia in G major (08’) WA MOZART / MICHAEL HAYDN Adagio & Fugue in D, K291 / MH287
Reinhard Goebel – Founder of early music ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln and a master of historical performance.
REINHARD GOEBEL, ONE OF THE MOST RENOWNED MUSICIANS IN THE FIELD OF HISTORICALLY INFORMED PERFORMANCE PRACTICE, MAKES HIS SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA DEBUT WITH A PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTING THE MUSIC SURROUNDING WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART.
WA MOZART Horn Concerto No 4 in E-flat, K495 (16’) JC BACH Overture and Suite, Amadis de Gaules (15’) WA MOZART Ballet Music from Idomeneo, K366 (15’) ––––– REINHARD GOEBEL – Conductor ALEC FRANK-GEMMILL – Natural Horn
Alec Frank-Gemmill – A proponent of the historical natural horn as well as the modern instrument.
Welcome to the master of historical performance, Reinhard Goebel, for a concert dedicated to the genius that is Mozart, and his friends. Mozart wrote Symphony No 31 for the Parisian taste for colour and excitement, and it instantly grabs your attention with its energy and brilliant vitality. The SCO’s own award-winning Principal Horn Alec Frank-Gemmill presents the irresistible Horn Concerto No 4 on Natural Horn, and Mozart’s richly scored, dignified and noble orchestral interlude from Idomeneo also features, reflecting the opera’s central theme of averted disaster and final harmonious conclusion. JC Bach was a true cosmopolitan, and a composer greatly admired by Mozart. His accomplished opera Amadis de Gaule was premiered in Paris in 1779. The concert also includes music by Mozart’s close friend Michael Haydn and a short work by his father Leopold.
––––– MEET THE ARTIST INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
SCO Principal Horn Alec Frank-Gemmill in conversation with Sub-Principal Second Violin Gordon Bragg. 19
Thursday 31 January 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm ––––– Proudly sponsored by
FRANÇOIS LELEUX CONDUCTS –––––
BERLIOZ
LES NUITS D’ÉTÉ SUNG BY CAROLYN SAMPSON LELEUX TAKES IN THE ANCIENT SPIRITUALITY AND SENSUALITY OF DEBUSSY’S EXQUISITE DANSES, THE INFECTIOUS NONCHALANCE OF GOUNOD’S EXUBERANT PETITE SYMPHONIE, AND THE BRACING DRAMA OF CONTEMPORARY COMPOSER ERIC TANGUY’S EFFUSIVE INCANTO.
GOUNOD Petite Symphonie (21’) DEBUSSY (arr HENRI BÜSSER) Petite Suite (13’) Danses sacrée et profane (10’) TANGUY Incanto (06’) BERLIOZ Les Nuits d’Eté (31’) ––––– FRANÇOIS LELEUX – Conductor / Oboe CAROLYN SAMPSON – Soprano Immerse yourself in the heady perfumes and scintillating colours of France, as François Leleux leads you through a rich collection of music from his native country, past and present. Dazzling British soprano Carolyn Sampson is the soloist in Berlioz’s sensuous Les Nuits d’Eté, six heavily scented songs of love, loss and longing, with all the sumptuousness of a summer evening.
––––– CONNECT INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
To book tickets sco.org.uk
Dr Katie Overy, Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Edinburgh, and SCO musicians Eric de Wit (Cello) and Alison Green (Bassoon) discuss new developments in SCO ReConnect, the SCO programme for people living with dementia.
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Next François Leleux Concert
CHAMBER SUNDAY
FAMILY CONCERT
––––– Sunday 3 February 2019 Queen’s Hall – 3.00pm
SIR SCALLYWAG AND THE GOLDEN UNDERPANTS
Programme to include:
––––– Proudly sponsored by
PROKOFIEV Quintet (24’) ROSSINI Quartet (11’) MOZART Oboe Quartet in F, K370 (14’) ––––– FRANÇOIS LELEUX – Oboe ALISON MITCHELL – Flute MAXIMILIANO MARTÍN – Clarinet ALEC FRANK-GEMMILL – Horn STEPHANIE GONLEY – Violin JANE ATKINS – Viola PHILIP HIGHAM – Cello NIKITA NAUMOV – Double Bass Larger-than-life French oboist François Leleux brings his enormous charisma and abundant skills to a sunny chamber recital alongside SCO Principal Players. He is soloist in Mozart’s bright and cheerful Oboe Quartet, and the programme also includes two rarely heard pieces for unusual ensembles: Prokofiev’s circus-style Quintet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass; and one of Rossini’s sparkling quartets for two violins, viola and bass – written, remarkably, when the composer was only twelve.
––––– Saturday 9 February 2019 Assembly Rooms – 12.00pm & 2.30pm RISSMANN Sir Scallywag and the Golden Underpants ––––– CHRIS JARVIS – Narrator KORKY PAUL – Illustrator When King Colin’s golden underpants go missing and the royal bottom is bared, it’s Sir Scallywag to the rescue! Brave and bold, courageous and true, he’s the perfect knight for the job… and what does it matter that he’s only six?! Alongside other pieces including extracts from Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, Sir Scallywag features lots of audience participation and illustrated projections (including a brief appearance of the King’s bare bottom!). This laugh-out-loud musical adventure is by composer Paul Rissmann, based on the book by Giles Andreae, illustrated by Korky Paul and published by Puffin, Penguin Books Ltd. Recommended for children age 3+.
Philip Higham SCO Principal Cello – “Recognised internationally as a major talent.” Washington Post
––––– Join us for Sir Scallywag-inspired events before the concert! More details from sco.org.uk/connect
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SIR JAMES MACMILLAN 60TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT
Sir James MacMillan –
CONDUCTED BY SIR JAMES MACMILLAN – PLAYED BY COLIN CURRIE – WITH SCO CHORUS ––––– Kindly supported by Resonate, a PRS Foundation initiative in partnership with Association of British Orchestras, BBC Radio 3 and Boltini Trust
––––– Thursday 21 February 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm PÄRT Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten (06’) MACMILLAN Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (28’) Seven Last Words from the Cross (48’) ––––– SIR JAMES MACMILLAN – Conductor COLIN CURRIE – Percussion ––––– SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director The partnership between Sir James MacMillan and the SCO goes back decades and has resulted in many remarkable new works. None has taken the world so much by storm as the percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel. It has been performed hundreds of times since its 1992 premiere and remains a thrilling experience live: a superb, celebratory highlight for this 60th Birthday Concert. Seven Last Words from the Cross is no less of a tour de force: a vivid, shocking and heartbreaking depiction of the crucifixion.
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Next SCO Chorus Concert
Colin Currie – The Scottish musician has been hailed as “the world’s finest and most daring percussionist”. The Spectator
Sir James MacMillan and the SCO – The SCO premiered Veni, Veni, Emmanuel in 1992 at the BBC Promenade Concerts, then at the Edinburgh International Festival. Now in the pantheon of contemporary classics, it sounds as wonderfully fresh, imaginative, rhythmically impulsive and vibrantly colourful as it did all those years ago. A modern choral counterpoint of Haydn’s masterpiece which was commissioned by the BBC for Holy Week in 1994, Seven Last Words was reviewed in the Guardian as “... probably MacMillan’s masterpiece... the maturity in this composition is astounding”.
MOZART PIANO CONCERTO No 19 PLAYED BY FRANCESCO PIEMONTESI ––––– Thursday 28 February 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
BRILLIANCE OF THE BAROQUE SUNG BY CAROLYN SAMPSON ––––– Thursday 7 March 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm PURCELL Music from The Fairy Queen (40’) HANDEL Concerto Grosso Op 3 No 1 in B-flat (10’) Arias from Semele: Oh, Jove in pity; Oh sleep; Myself I shall adore (15’) Music for the Royal Fireworks (20’) ––––– RICHARD EGARR – Conductor / Harpsichord CAROLYN SAMPSON – Soprano
STRAVINSKY Concerto in D (12’) MOZART Piano Concerto No 19 in F, K459 (28’) STENHAMMAR Serenade in F (36’) ––––– ANDREW MANZE – Conductor FRANCESCO PIEMONTESI – Piano Piemontesi and Manze first came together in 2011 and reunited two years ago for memorable Mozart concerts that led to a bestselling CD. Mozart is their focus here once more – his graceful, sunny Piano Concerto No 19. The SCO is one of the world’s greatest Mozart orchestras and it finds an ideal foil in the freshness and spontaneity of Piemontesi’s playing. Manze adds a Scandinavian treat too: Stenhammar’s Serenade is nothing less than a love song to the city of Florence. He would not be drawn on the story behind the music but hinted “… it isn’t just the titles that are Italian.”
WITH ANDREW MANZE AND THE SCO... PIEMONTESI HAS A FIRST-CLASS MOZART ORCHESTRA. Fono Forum 24
Next Piano Concerto Concert
Described as a conductor “full of fizzy finesse”, Richard Egarr presents a celebration of Handel and Purcell. There’s a riot of colour in Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks and in his Concerto Grosso Op 3 No 1, and exquisitely beautiful arias from his humorous musical drama Semele, delivered by the dazzling soprano Carolyn Sampson. Purcell’s glimmering suite from the opera The Fairy Queen draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a bewitching tale celebrating the wonder and joy of love in all its forms. Purcell conjures up an enchanted world where the magical forces of nature reign supreme.
CAROLYN SAMPSON’S PURE SOPRANO COSSETS THE WORDS, SAVOURING THEIR EXPRESSIVE IMPLICATIONS, RELISHING THEIR SHIFTS OF RHYTHM AND SUBTLY SIGHING WITH BLISS, YEARNING OR HEARTACHE. The Telegraph Carolyn Sampson – Sampson’s soprano voice has super-refined control of phrasing and dynamics.
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SIBELIUS SYMPHONIES Nos 6 & 7
Joseph Swensen –
CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH SWENSEN ––––– Thursday 14 March 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm BEETHOVEN Overture, Coriolan (08’) SIBELIUS Symphony No 6 (30’) BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No 2 (28’) SIBELIUS Symphony No 7 (21’) ––––– JOSEPH SWENSEN – Conductor PAUL LEWIS – Piano Two worlds collide thrillingly: Beethoven in Vienna around 1800, entering his prime and out to impress both as a performer and composer. Sibelius, 120 years later, deep in the Finnish countryside creating what would be some of his very last works. These are two composers closest to Joseph Swensen’s heart. He delivers full-blooded interpretations and pairing him with Paul Lewis, another great Beethovenian, is bound to be inspirational.
––––– CONDUCTOR INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
Joseph Swensen in conversation with Svend McEwan-Brown, a regular contributor to SCO programme notes.
JOSEPH SWENSEN AND THE SCO ROUNDED OFF A GREAT NIGHT WITH A BROODING, INWARD, AND BLISTERINGLY-INTENSE PERFORMANCE OF SIBELIUS. The Herald 28
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Next Piano Concerto Concert
Paul Lewis – Lewis brings a strong physicality as well as luminous poetic insights to Beethoven’s tempestuous music.
PAUL LEWIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST PIANISTS RENOWNED FOR HIS BEETHOVEN. HE IS A MULTI-AWARD WINNING RECORDING ARTIST, WITH AWARDS THAT INCLUDE HIS PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPLETE BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS.
Thursday 21 March 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
RAVEL
LE TOMBEAU DE COUPERIN DIRECTED AND PLAYED BY PEKKA KUUSISTO THERE’S NOT AN INCH OF FORMALITY TO HIS PLAYING: PEKKA KUUSISTO MIGHT AS WELL HAVE WANDERED AROUND THE HALL AND WHISPERED. The Guardian
BARTÓK Soldier Song (01’) RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin (17’) Sonata for Violin and Cello: Mvt 1 (05’) MESSIAEN Abîme des Oiseaux from Quatuor pour le fin de Temps (08’) CRUMB God-music from Black Angels (03’) BIBER Battaglia (10’) HAYDN Symphony No 45 in F-sharp minor, ‘Farewell’ (25’) ––––– PEKKA KUUSISTO – Director / Violin MAXIMILIANO MARTÍN – Clarinet BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin PHILIP HIGHAM – Cello Wayward genius… extraordinary sound… there’s not an inch of formality to Pekka Kuusisto. He is one-of-akind – a mesmerising player, with a riveting personality on stage who has earned himself a bit of a maverick reputation. His programme is a sort of musical ‘farewell’ through the last four centuries. The movements of Ravel’s light-hearted, reflective Tombeau de Couperin, dovetail with works written in times of conflict, including Messiaen’s Abyss of the Birds.
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CHAMBER SUNDAY ––––– Sunday 24 March 2019 Queen’s Hall – 3.00pm
CONDUCTED AND PLAYED BY FRANÇOIS LELEUX
ˇ DVORÁK Quintet in G, Op 77 (35’) BARTÓK Romanian Folk Dances (06’) STRAUSS Metamorphosen (26’) ––––– BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin RUTH CROUCH – Violin JANE ATKINS – Viola FELIX TANNER – Viola PHILIP HIGHAM – Cello SU-A LEE – Cello NIKITA NAUMOV – Double Bass From beaming optimism to aching poignancy: an ensemble of SCO strings takes you on a profound emotional journey in the Season’s final chamber concert. Dvořák’s Quintet teems with melting Bohemian melody, while the infectious eagerness of Bartók’s vibrant Romanian Folk Dances draws on his own musical research in the country. Strauss’ intensely personal Metamorphosen, however, is a tragic reflection on the devastation the composer saw during World War Two – heart-rending, gripping and deeply cathartic.
Su-a Lee SCO Sub-Principal Cello – As well as classical music, Su-a plays across all art forms and a wide musical spectrum.
THREE SERENADES
Nikita Naumov SCO Principal Double Bass – A formidable double bassist who plays with passion and conviction.
––––– Proudly sponsored by
––––– Thursday 28 March 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm
WOLF Italian Serenade (08’) ˇ DVORÁK Serenade in D minor, Op 44 (24’) BRAHMS Serenade No 1 (49’) ––––– FRANÇOIS LELEUX – Conductor / Oboe Three enchanting serenades come together in a lavish conclusion to François Leleux’s Season with the SCO. The Orchestra’s strings take centre stage for the intimate warmth of Wolf’s Italian Serenade – hearing it is almost like eavesdropping on the sparkling conversations at a sophisticated party. There’s Bohemian brilliance, however, from Dvořák, whose richly rousing Serenade puts the SCO’s wind players firmly in the spotlight. All the evening’s musicians get together for the delicious closing feast of Brahms’ youthful First Serenade, as joyful as it is exuberant.
––––– CONNECT INSIGHTS: 6.30pm Pre-concert performance by City of Edinburgh Music School.
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Thursday 4 April 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm ––––– THE QUILTER CHEVIOT BENEDETTI SERIES
MOZART
VIOLIN CONCERTOS Nos 3 & 5 PLAYED BY NICOLA BENEDETTI BRILLIANT, TUNEFUL, RHYTHMIC, EXOTIC – THAT’S WHAT ‘TURKISH’ MEANT TO MOZART, AND HIS VIOLIN CONCERTO IS A JOYOUS SHOWSTOPPER FOR SCOTLAND’S FAVOURITE VIOLINIST.
MOZART Violin Concerto No 3 in G, K216 (24’)* Symphony No 35 in D, K385 ‘Haffner’ (18’) ANNA CLYNE Within her Arms (14’) MOZART Violin Concerto No 5 in A, K219 ‘Turkish’ (29’)* ––––– BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Director / Violin NICOLA BENEDETTI – Director / Violin * Benedetti play-directs two Mozart Violin Concertos with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. These lovely pieces are perfect for her: Mozart probably wrote them for himself to play on his many tours and needless to say, he made sure they had all you could wish for in a showpiece: plenty of fireworks, sublime slow movements and quirky, memorable features like the ‘Turkish’ effects in No 5. Anna Clyne’s Within her Arms has been compared to Barber’s Adagio for Strings for its radiance and intensity – a moving contrast to Mozart’s youthful high spirits.
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Thursday 11 April 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm ––––– Proudly sponsored by
RAVEL
PIANO CONCERTO PLAYED BY BERTRAND CHAMAYOU CHAMAYOU BRINGS EVERYTHING HOME IN A WAY THAT IS DEEPLY PERSONAL, VIVID, UNIQUE. NO ONE WHO LOVES FRENCH MUSIC OR EXQUISITE PIANO PLAYING WILL WANT TO MISS THIS.
GINASTERA Variaciones Concertantes (21’) RAVEL Piano Concerto in G (23’) BEETHOVEN Symphony No 4 (34’) ––––– JOSEP PONS – Conductor BERTRAND CHAMAYOU – Piano So many wonderful soloists in this concert! Each of Ginastera’s 12 ‘Variaciones’ puts different orchestral players in the spotlight, making a kind of kaleidoscopic spectacular. Then Bertrand Chamayou takes the stage for Ravel’s jazzy concerto. Ravel fell in love with jazz in the 1920s and fused it brilliantly with his own European heritage. Chamayou is sparky, dazzlingly virtuosic, but thoughtful and sensitive too: the ideal soloist. After such a high-octane first half, Pons closes the evening with Beethoven’s lustrous Fourth Symphony.
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HARDENBERGER PLAYS HAYDN AND GRUBER
Håkan Hardenberger
– “… the best trumpet player in the galaxy…” The Times
CONDUCTED BY JOHN STORGÅRDS – PLAYED BY HÅKAN HARDENBERGER ––––– Proudly sponsored by
––––– Thursday 25 April 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm SCHULHOFF Serenade Op 18 (27’) HAYDN Trumpet Concerto in E-flat (14’) GRUBER Busking (31’) BEETHOVEN Twelve Contradances (12’) ––––– JOHN STORGÅRDS – Conductor HÅKAN HARDENBERGER – Trumpets “Great fun for the audience” – very few new pieces of music are reviewed like that, but Busking is a trumpet concerto unlike any you will have heard before, and it does leave its audiences cheering. Virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger plays multiple instruments in it, while banjo and accordion join the ranks of the orchestra to help bring the vibrant, exotic world of street musicians into the concert hall. All in all it is a tour de force complemented by Beethoven’s delightful dances, Schulhoff’s jazzy serenade and an old favourite: Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto.
––––– CONDUCTOR INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
BUSKING WAS COMPOSED FOR HÅKAN HARDENBERGER AND MAKES FULL USE OF HIS PHENOMENAL VIRTUOSITY... A DAZZLING CROSS-CUT FABRIC OF COMPETING RHYTHMS, WITH THE BANJO AND ACCORDION ADDING A BRITTLE, ALMOST SARDONIC EDGE.
John Storgårds – The Finnish conductor is an earthy, powerful, passionate musician with precision, vitality and clarity of performance.
The Guardian
John Storgårds discusses tonight’s programme.
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DOVE ACCORDION CONCERTO
Clemens Schuldt –
WORLD PREMIERE CONDUCTED BY CLEMENS SCHULDT – PLAYED BY OWEN MURRAY ––––– Kindly supported by Mr Roland Williams, PRS Foundation and the Royal Academy of Music
––––– Thursday 2 May 2019 Queen’s Hall – 7.30pm MOZART Symphony No 34 in C, K338 (21’) DOVE Accordion Concerto World Premiere (20’) LIGETI Concerto Românesc (15’) HAYDN Symphony No 90 in C (24’) ––––– CLEMENS SCHULDT – Conductor OWEN MURRAY – Accordion BENJAMIN MARQUISE GILMORE – Violin Jonathan Dove’s concertos are often more than they seem, for example, his flute concerto The Magic Flute Dances imagines the life of the magic flute after the end of Mozart’s eponymous opera. His new Accordion Concerto promises to be a fitting tribute to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, drawing influences from his love of Orkney. Max had been commissioned to write the concerto for accordion virtuoso Owen Murray, but sadly he passed away just as he was about to start work on it. Mozart and Haydn are both in high spirits in their symphonies here – Haydn plays a joke that is sure to catch you out – while Ligeti is in rustic, folksy mood.
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UNQUESTIONABLY THE FINEST PLAYER AND TEACHER IN BRITAIN. CAN BE COMPARED TO SEGOVIA FOR HIS SUPREME VIRTUOSITY AND ALSO FOR HIS SUCCESS IN DEMONSTRATING THE GREAT POTENTIAL OF AN UNDERVALUED INSTRUMENT. The Times on Owen Murray
COMPOSER INSIGHTS: 6.30pm – Jonathan Dove introduces his new Accordion Concerto.
Thursday 9 May 2019 Usher Hall – 7.30pm
BERLIOZ
SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE CONDUCTED BY EMMANUEL KRIVINE “SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE IS A BIZARRE SORT OF NIGHT PIECE, NOW AND THEN ILLUMINATED BY THE SENTIMENTAL WHITENESS OF A WOMAN’S ROBE FLUTTERING TO AND FRO OR BY A SULPHUR-YELLOW GLEAM OF IRONY.” Heinrich Heine
FAURÉ Requiem (37’) BERLIOZ Symphonie Fantastique (50’) ––––– EMMANUEL KRIVINE – Conductor RUDOLF ROSEN – Baritone ––––– SCO CHORUS GREGORY BATSLEER – Chorus Director Passion rules in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Season Finale! Principal Guest Conductor Emmanuel Krivine brings an abundance of French panache in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique: unrequited love, a ‘Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath’, an intense vision of hell, and a bizarre and fantastic ending. In contrast, Fauré’s Requiem offers gentleness and intimacy, radiant with consolation – gloriously delivered by the sublime SCO Chorus and the soothing baritone of Rudolf Rosen.
––––– CONNECT INSIGHTS: 6.30pm
Fantastic Tales. Join storyteller Claire Hewitt and SCO Clarinet William Stafford as they conjure up Berlioz’s dark world of witchcraft and obsession. Presented in collaboration with the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
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Alison Mitchell SCO Principal Flute – Wind Soloist in two Chamber Sundays (P14 & P21).
Alec Frank-Gemmill SCO Principal Horn – A historical performance of Mozart’s irresistible Fourth Horn Concerto (P19).
Gregory Batsleer SCO Chorus Director – The SCO Chorus Christmas Concert is a highlight in Edinburgh’s festive calendar (P18).
Maximiliano Martín SCO Principal Clarinet – Mendelssohn Duos with William Stafford (P17) and Messiaen’s Abyss of the Birds (P25).
Stephanie Gonley SCO Leader – Soloist in the highly entertaining, traditional New Year’s Day Gala Concert (P18).
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, SCO Leader – Partnering with Karina Canellakis (P17), Nicola Benedetti (P27) and Pekka Kuusisto (P25).
Jane Atkins SCO Principal Viola – Soloist in McLeod’s ‘Nordic Fire’ Concerto (P13), and Chamber Sundays (P21 & P26).
Philip Higham SCO Principal Cello – A beautiful solo spot, supported by 20 tuned wine glasses in Crumb’s God-music (P25).
BOOKING SECTION: HOW TO BOOK –––––
BOOKING CONTENTS Multibuy (Subscription) Prices Multibuy Postal Booking Form Seating Plans Easy Guide to Booking
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SCO SEASON CONCERTS I £35
II £30
III £23
IV £17.50
V £11.50
Booking Fees: £1 per transaction online or £1 by phone.
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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 2018 and receive a free ticket to Chamber Sunday on Sunday 3 February 2019. Renew your subscription by 12 April 2018 and, wherever possible, keep your seats from the previous season. Book online by 15 June 2018 and have the option to pay in four instalments by Direct Debit. Book by 1 September 2018 and receive a £5 CD voucher to spend at the SCO Merchandise Desk. All single tickets are on sale from Thursday 10 May 2018.
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SUBSCRIPTIONS, CHORUS CHRISTMAS and FAMILY CONCERTS can all be booked online at www.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.
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Book online at sco.org.uk, by post, phone or in person
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
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CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT £16 + Booking Fee (no fee if booking at sco.org.uk)
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FAMILY CONCERT £12.50 (children £6)
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NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT £35 - £11.50 + Booking Fee
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GROUP DISCOUNTS Groups of 6 or more booking together save 20% off full price tickets (only available when booking at the Box Office.)
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SENIOR CITIZENS £2 off single full price tickets (excludes Family Concert) or save up to 38% when booking four or more concerts.
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26 OR UNDER, STUDENTS AND UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE £6 per ticket for all concerts (excludes New Year Gala Concert).
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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).
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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.
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SUBSCRIPTION PRICES BAND
I
II
III
IV
FULL PRICE TICKETS
£35.00
£30.00
£23.00
£17.50
STANDARD DISCOUNTS Saving off full price
Number of concerts
I
II
III
IV
10%
4
£126.00
£108.00
£82.80
£63.00
5
£157.50
£135.00
£103.50
£78.75
12%
6
£184.80
£158.40
£121.44
£92.40
7
£215.60
£184.80
£141.68
£107.80
15%
8
£238.00
£204.00
£156.40
£119.04
9
£267.75
£229.50
£175.95
£133.92
18%
10
£287.00
£246.00
£188.60
£143.50
11
£315.70
£270.60
£207.46
£157.85
20%
12
£336.00
£288.00
£220.80
£168.00
13
£364.00
£312.00
£239.20
£182.00
22%
14
£382.20
£327.60
£251.16
£191.10
15
£409.50
£351.00
£269.10
£204.75
25%
16
£420.00
£360.00
£276.00
£210.08
17
£446.25
£382.50
£293.25
£223.04
28%
18
£453.60
£388.80
£298.08
£226.80
19
£478.80
£410.40
£314.64
£239.40
30%
20
£490.00
£420.00
£322.00
£245.00
21
£514.50
£441.00
£338.10
£257.25
33%
22
£515.90
£442.20
£339.02
£258.06
23
£539.35
£462.30
£354.43
£269.79
SENIOR DISCOUNTS Saving off full price
Number of concerts
I
II
III
IV
15%
4
£119.00
£102.00
£78.20
£59.52
5
£148.75
£127.50
£97.75
£74.40
17%
6
£174.30
£149.40
£114.54
£87.18
7
£203.35
£174.30
£133.63
£101.71
20%
8
£224.00
£192.00
£147.20
£112.00
9
£252.00
£216.00
£165.60
£126.00
23%
10
£269.50
£231.00
£177.10
£134.80
11
£296.45
£254.10
£194.81
£148.28
25%
12
£315.00
£270.00
£207.00
£157.56
13
£341.25
£292.50
£224.25
£170.69
27%
14
£357.70
£306.60
£235.06
£178.92
15
£383.25
£328.50
£251.85
£191.70
30%
16
£392.00
£336.00
£257.60
£196.00
17
£416.50
£357.00
£273.70
£208.25
33%
18
£422.10
£361.80
£277.38
£211.14
19
£445.55
£381.90
£292.79
£222.87
35%
20
£455.00
£390.00
£299.00
£227.60
21
£477.75
£409.50
£313.95
£238.98
38%
22
£477.40
£409.20
£313.72
£238.70
23
£499.10
£427.80
£327.98
£249.55
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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Please write the total number of concerts selected
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
Senior
Disabled
19-26/Student
3. Please choose your price band (tick one box)
I
Under 18
II
III
IV
4. Where applicable, do you have a preference on seating area? Usher Hall:
Grand Circle (I and II only)
Stalls
Upper Circle
Queen’s Hall:
Stalls
Gallery
5. Additional events (e.g. Chamber Sundays, Chorus Christmas, Family and New Year’s Day Concerts) Additional Events
= Total cost
6. SCO Donation – please help us inspire the musicians of tomorrow by giving today.
£
£
You can round up your subscription or specify your amount (e.g. £100/£50/£10).
7. Your payment calculation – reference subscription prices opposite Total cost of subscription
£
Additional
+ events
£
+ Donation
£
Box office
+ booking fee
£1.80
=
£
8. How do you wish to pay?
I enclose a cheque payable to ‘Scottish Chamber Orchestra’
Please debit my Mastercard/Visa/debit card (delete as appropriate).
Card Number: Expiry Date:
/
Security code (last three digits on signature strip):
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.
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SEATING PLANS Queen’s Hall Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JG 0131 668 2019
Usher Hall Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2EA 0131 228 1155
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––––– 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. 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.
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.
An induction loop is fitted for people with hearing difficulties. Please notify the Box Office when booking.
P
An NCP car park is located on Castle Terrace. SCO ticket holders can park here for a flat fee of £7. Simply scan your parking token at the Box Office to receive this discount. Please note: customers must park after 5pm and leave before midnight Monday – Friday. Parking is available all day Saturday and Sunday. 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.
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THANK YOU Our ticket sales, government funding and commercial projects cannot support us on their own. We are therefore extremely grateful to all our Patrons and Business Partners for the critical difference they make, and for the substantial support we receive from Trusts and Foundations. The vital investment of our donors allows us to share music of the highest quality with the widest possible audience, through accessible ticket prices, tours, recordings, commissions and creative learning. To find out about supporting the work of the SCO, please contact the Development Team on 0131 478 8344 or visit sco.org.uk/support-us
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Benefactor Dunard Fund Major Partner Virgin Money Business Partners Adam & Company Baillie Gifford Capital Document Solutions Culture and Business Fund Scotland Insider.co.uk Institut français d’Écosse Kinloch Anderson Pulsant Quilter Cheviot Turcan Connell
Your Orchestra
– “One of the finest ensembles of its kind in the world today.”
Principal Conductor’s Circle Geoff and Mary Ball Sir Ewan and Lady Brown Colin and Sue Buchan David and Maria Cumming Jo and Alison Elliot Gavin and Kate Gemmell 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 Claire and Mark Urquhart Bryan Wade Roland Williams Hedley G Wright
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Creative Partners Drake Music Scotland Edinburgh College Edinburgh International Book Festival Edinburgh International Festival Horsecross Arts NHS Lothian Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Scottish Storytelling Centre St Mary’s Music School The Institute for Music in Human and Social Development (IMHSD) University of St Andrews (Orchestra in Residence) University of Edinburgh (Orchestra in Association) Wester Hailes Community Residency Schools WHALE Arts
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
#mySCO @SCOmusic
SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay Patron
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Donald MacDonald CBE Life President
sco.org.uk/keep-me-informed
Colin Buchan Chairman
telephone: 0131 557 6800 email: info@sco.org.uk
Gavin Reid Chief Executive
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Emmanuel Krivine Principal Guest Conductor
Donate to the SCO and get to know us better.
Joseph Swensen Conductor Emeritus
telephone: 0131 478 8344 sco.org.uk/support-us/patrons
Martin Suckling Associate Composer
KEEP IN TOUCH
BECOME A PATRON
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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.
Gregory Batsleer Chorus Director
––––– The SCO gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council.
––––– Designed by: Association designbyassoc.com
––––– Photography credits: Julien Becker Christina Bleier David Boni Marco Borggreve Jack Dine John Elder Simon Fowler Kaapo Kamu Werner Kmetitsch Thomas Kost Jean-Baptiste Millot Jen Owens Hans van der Woerd
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EASY GUIDE TO BOOKING Book online at sco.org.uk
1
The simplest way to multibuy tickets is to take out a subscription online at sco.org.uk Why book online? i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii
The online form calculates the total cost of subscription for you. Quick, easy and secure. Can be done on your mobile, tablet or computer. Specify where you would like to sit. You can select a different price band per venue. Easy to purchase extra tickets for family members and friends. You can spread the cost of your subscription in four instalments by using our new online Direct Debit payment method. Once you subscribe online, your booking is sent directly to the SCO and the Queen’s Hall Box Office. The Queen’s Hall allocate your tickets.
2
You can also subscribe by filling in the form on page 35 and posting it to Scottish Chamber Orchestra together with your payment.
3
Single tickets for Chorus Christmas and Family concerts can be bought online at sco.org.uk.
4
Single tickets for other concerts are available from Thursday 10 May 2018 from the venue box offices.
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BOOKING CONTENTS
How to Book Multibuy (Subscription) Prices Multibuy Postal Booking Form Seating Plans
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Thursday 27 September Usher Hall
Thursday 4 October Queen’s Hall
Thursday 11 October Usher Hall
Thursday 25 October Queen’s Hall
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
HAYDN Oboe Concerto
HAYDN The Seasons
McLEOD Nordic Fire
Thursday 1 November Queen’s Hall
Thursday 8 November Queen’s Hall
Sunday 18 November Queen’s Hall
Thursday 22 November Usher Hall
MOZART with Bezuidenhout
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto
CHAMBER SUNDAY with SCO Wind Soloists
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No 4
Thursday 29 November Queen’s Hall
Thursday 6 December Queen’s Hall
Thursday 13 December Queen’s Hall
Thursday 20 December Greyfriars Kirk
MENDELSSOHN A Midsummer Night’s Dream
MENDELSSOHN Tales of Mendelssohn II
MENDELSSOHN Tales of Mendelssohn III
SCO CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Tuesday 1 January Usher Hall
Thursday 17 January Queen’s Hall
Thursday 31 January Queen’s Hall
Sunday 3 February Queen’s Hall
NEW YEAR GALA CONCERT
MOZART Horn Concerto No 4
BERLIOZ Les Nuits d’Eté
CHAMBER SUNDAY with Leleux
Saturday 9 February Assembly Rooms
Thursday 21 February Queen’s Hall
Thursday 28 February Queen’s Hall
Thursday 7 March Queen’s Hall
SIR SCALLYWAG with Chris Jarvis
MACMILLAN 60th Birthday Concert
MOZART with Piemontesi
BRILLIANCE OF THE BAROQUE
Thursday 14 March Usher Hall
Thursday 21 March Queen’s Hall
Sunday 24 March Queen’s Hall
Thursday 28 March Queen’s Hall
SIBELIUS Symphonies 6 & 7
RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin
CHAMBER SUNDAY with SCO String Soloists
THREE SERENADES with Leleux
Thursday 4 April Usher Hall
Thursday 11 April Queen’s Hall
Thursday 25 April Queen’s Hall
Thursday 2 May Queen’s Hall
MOZART with Benedetti
RAVEL Piano Concerto
HAYDN AND GRUBER Trumpet Concertos
DOVE Accordion Concerto
Thursday 9 May Usher Hall FAURÉ & BERLIOZ with Krivine
4 Royal Terrace Edinburgh EH7 5AB telephone: 0131 557 6800 email: info@sco.org.uk www.sco.org.uk
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The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039. Company Registration No. SC075079.