ISSUE 75 | SCO NEWS | JANUARY 2020
ALMA MAHLER AND HER MUSIC
ALSO INSIDE: MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV | SUMMER TOUR DATES 2020 | NEW VIBE
ISSUE 75 | SCO NEWS | JANUARY 2020
CONTENTS REGULARS
04
3
FOREWORD
4
NEWS
7
60 SECOND INTERVIEW
8
RECENT RECORDINGS
26 PATRON EVENTS 30 YOUR SAY
31 THROUGH THE EYES OF...
FEATURES
COVER FEATURE
10 ALMA MAHLER AND HER MUSIC By Cate Haste
16 SUMMER TOUR DATES 2020 18 NEW VIBE 20 COMING TO BEETHOVEN (BY WAY OF MENDELSSOHN) By Professor Nicholas Marston
18
24 THOUGHTS ON BEETHOVEN With Laura Comini
25 SCO CHORUS: SPEM IN ALIUM 28 FREE PRE-CONCERT INSIGHTS AND PERFORMANCES
4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB +44 (0)131 557 6800 • info@sco.org.uk sco.org.uk The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is a charity registered in Scotland No. SC015039. Company registration No. SC075079.
Cover image Alma Mahler with hat © Lebrecht Music Arts / Bridgeman Images
SCO NEWS|03
A WARM WELCOME TO SCO NEWS
FOREWORD A very warm welcome to this first edition of SCO
arguably the world’s greatest percussionist, Colin
News in 2020.
Currie, both originally from Edinburgh.
I hope that you had a wonderful Festive Season
Continuing the theme of great Scottish
and that you were able to celebrate the New
musicians, we are about to welcome back the
Year with the Orchestra and Joseph Swensen
wonderful Karen Cargill, to sing songs by Mahler.
in one of our ever-popular Viennese concerts in
Not Gustav – although he does appear in the
Edinburgh, Dumfries, Ayr or Dundee.
same programme – but his wife Alma, who was a very accomplished composer in her own right.
2020 is a year in which we will be seeing much
One not to be missed.
more of our new Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev. After the excitement of his first
The SCO has an extensive and distinguished
concerts we all look forward enormously to his
catalogue of recordings, many of which are
imminent return.
regarded as definitive. Given its critical reception I think we can now add our new recording of
Not only will Maxim be performing four more
Schubert’s 9th Symphony with Maxim to the
programmes as part of this current Winter
definitive category as the recent 5* review in The
Season, he will also lead the SCO on one of our
Times attested; ‘Emelyanychev… always inside
Summer Tours. As ever, our players will cover
the music, flying with the notes, keeping textures
the length and breadth of Scotland playing in
light and airy while giving every fortissimo its due.’
beautiful venues on Shetland and Mull and in Ballachulish, Castle Douglas and Selkirk, with
Finally, I am delighted to welcome three new
many more in between.
members to the SCO. Louise Goodwin joined us in November as Principal Timpani with
However, before all of that we have three more
Percussion, Rachel Spencer joins us in January
concerts celebrating the astonishing genius of
as No 4 Second Violin and in February, André
Beethoven, including his Triple Concerto with
Cebrián Garea takes his place as our Principal
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, Philip Higham and
Flute.
Kristian Bezuidenhout. We will also experience, once again, the remarkable creativity of our
I do hope you enjoy reading SCO News and look
Featured Artist Pekka Kuusisto, plus a Mozart
forward to seeing you at one of our events over
Piano Concerto played on the harp by Xavier
the coming weeks and months.
de Maistre. We can also look forward to a new percussion concerto written by one of Scotland’s
Gavin Reid
finest living composers, Helen Grime, played by
Chief Executive
04|SCO NEWS
NEWS
© Ryan Buchanan
SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA’S PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV’S CONTRACT EXTENDED UNTIL 2025 Announcing this news, Gavin Reid, Chief
an orchestra of musicians as fine as
Executive, commented that “Maxim has
these, who wouldn’t want to play with
had such a wonderful reception from
them as much as possible? The music
the Orchestra and audiences alike in
is always central for us and I’m excited
the past few months. Naturally, we are
to continue sharing it with audiences in
delighted he has extended his contract
Scotland and across the world.”
until 2025. With the release of the
––––––
Schubert CD to his first official concerts,
BAROQUE DANCES
we have only just begun to discover
Conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev
what he and our musicians can achieve
16 - 18 January in Edinburgh,
together.”
Glasgow and Aberdeen ––––––
Asked what was so special for him about the SCO, Maxim replied that “Conducting the SCO is always like performing with family. When you have
Proudly sponsored and match funded by
SCO NEWS|05
RAYMOND LEPPARD
editions of Italian
retained until 1980 despite
baroque music, such as
moving to the United states
(11 AUGUST 1927 – 22 OCTOBER 2019)
Monteverdi and Cavalli,
in 1976. From 1987 he
were controversial, but
spent 14 years as Music
––––––
he was one of the first
Director of the Indianapolis
Raymond Leppard CBE,
major conductors to
Symphony Orchestra
who has died at the age of
recognise the emotional
before going freelance.
92, played a pivotal role
power of such music
in the rebirth of interest
which he performed
Although somewhat
in Italian baroque music.
at Glyndebourne and
‘typecast’ as a baroque
He also performed this
elsewhere. His several
specialist, Leppard had a
repertoire with the SCO
collaborations with Dame
special love of much 20th
and, after a production
Janet Baker brought
century, and especially
of Handel’s Alcina at the
memorable results in
British, music. “I have
Aix-en-Provence Festival
Monteverdi and Gluck,
a profound belief that
in 1978, became the
and he performed Handel
if you play Bartók well,
SCO’s first Principal Guest
with her and the SCO in
you’ll probably play Bach
Conductor, collaborating
1980.
well, or better. And if you play Bach well, you’ll
with such singers as Isobel Buchanan, Ann Murray and
In 1973 he had become
probably play Brahms
Margaret Marshall and the
Principal Conductor
better, too.” (Chicago
flautist Aurèle Nicolet.
of the BBC Northern
interview with Bruce
Symphony Orchestra
Duffie, 1986).
Leppard’s rather
(now BBC Philharmonic) in
––––––
elaborate ‘romantic’
Manchester, the position he
by Professor Chris Kelnar
Orchestra with Raymond Leppard
06|SCO NEWS
Louise Goodwin
We can also confirm that
say ‘hello’ to Rebecca
André Cebrián Garea has
Smith who has recently
––––––
joined the Orchestra as our
been appointed as
A drum roll please as we
new Principal Flute. You may
Trusts Officer within
announce the Orchestra’s
well have already spotted
our Development and
new Principal Timpani
André performing in some of
Sponsorship department.
with Percussion... Louise
our recent concerts and he
Goodwin!
will be taking up the position
Since graduating with
in early 2020. Finally, Rachel
a degree in Music from
Louise has played with
Spencer has just joined us as
Glasgow University in
the Orchestra on many
No 4 Second Violin. Rachel
2016, Rebecca has worked
occasions over the past
will be with us next for
as Festival Assistant for
few months and we
Maxim’s concerts in January.
The Cumnock Tryst and in
NEW FACES
are delighted by her appointment.
various roles with NYOS, On the administration
most recently within their
side of things, we also
Development Department.
60
SECOND INTERVIEW CHRIS JARVIS
What excites you most about working with the SCO? I absolutely love working with real musicians who are at the top of their game and the SCO is premier league and world-class, so there’s a lot to get excited about! In your opinion, what are the benefits / importance of introducing children to live orchestral music? The educational, inspirational and aspirational benefits for children experiencing live orchestral music have always been huge, but perhaps never more so than today. So much orchestral music springs out of speakers on televisions and in cinemas, but rarely with the musicians in vision. The BBC has ramped up its commitment to introducing André Cebrián Garea
children to real music with CBeebies Proms and Ten Pieces. But the impact of hearing and seeing an orchestra in the flesh, wood, brass and string for the first time is
BOARD CHANGES
massive and I truly wish every child had that opportunity.
––––––
What can parents and children expect to experience at
Please join us as we bid
an SCO Family Festival?
farewell to outgoing Board
The festival is more than just a concert, there are other
members Alison Paul and
activities at the concert hall where children can create
Jo Elliot. We thank them
art and craftwork, engage with musicians and have a go
sincerely for the time and
themselves. As well as being a great introduction to the
energy which they have
Orchestra, it’s also highly interactive and a big laugh for
freely given whilst on the
all the family.
Board and it’s not really
––––––
goodbye, as we hope to
STAN AND MABEL AND THE RACE FOR SPACE
see them at another
7-9 February in Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow
SCO concert before too
––––––
long.
Proudly sponsored by
08|SCO NEWS
SCO MUSIC
RECENT RECORDINGS SCHUBERT: SYMPHONY NO 9 IN C MAJOR ‘THE GREAT’ MAXIM EMELYANYCHEV - CONDUCTOR
The Times
The Scotsman
The Guardian
As you can imagine, everyone at the
24 December. Very excitingly, discs with
SCO has been thrilled by the critical
double 5-star reviews automatically get
and audience response to the release
considered for a BBC Music Magazine
of our first recording with new Principal
award. The awards happen in April, so
Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev
please keep your fingers crossed for us
Schubert: Symphony No 9 in C Major’ The
and watch this space!
Great’. –––––– At time of writing we had just heard
Not got your copy yet? Then look no
that BBC Music Magazine awarded
further than the SCO merchandise desk at
the recording a double 5 star (for
our concerts, call the office on 0131 557
performance and recording) review in
6800 or purchase a digital download from
their January issue which was out on
linnrecords.com
SCO NEWS|09
BIZET CARMEN SUITE NO 1 & SYMPHONY NO 1 GOUNOD PETITE SYMPHONIE
Looking ahead, the lighter, brighter days of March will see the release of our new recording with Linn Records – Bizet Carmen Suite No 1 and Symphony No 1 and Gounod Petite Symphonie. Recorded in Dundee’s Caird Hall last May and conducted by SCO regular François Leleux, we hope that you will agreed that this new recording, like spring, was worth the wait. –––––– Available from the SCO merchandise desk or by phone on 0131 557 6800 this spring.
WHEN THE SPACE IS FILLED BY A CONDUCTOR AND SOLOIST WITH THE OUTSIZE CHARISMA AND MUSICIANSHIP OF THE FRENCH OBOIST FRANÇOIS LELEUX, THE EFFECT IS DOUBLED.’ The Arts Desk
10|SCO NEWS
ALMA MAHLER AND HER MUSIC CATE HASTE From an early age, Alma Mahler was obsessed with music. Through it she expressed her passion and her pain. In music she found glory, and refuge when tragedy overtook her. Alma lived at the hub of fin de siècle Vienna’s vibrant intellectual and artistic life. Her artist father, Emil Jacob Schindler, had died tragically when she was 13. Her social circle was at the era’s avant garde, the Vienna Secession, cofounded by her stepfather, Carl Moll and the artist Gustav Klimt, who would be Alma’s first kiss. Intelligent, beautiful, and renowned as ‘the loveliest girl in Vienna, Alma absorbed culture eagerly, like a flower open to the sun.
COVER FEATURE
© Lebrecht Music Arts / Bridgeman Images
INTELLIGENT, BEAUTIFUL, AND RENOWNED AS ‘THE LOVELIEST GIRL IN VIENNA, ’ ALMA ABSORBED CULTURE EAGERLY, LIKE A FLOWER OPEN TO THE SUN.
SCO NEWS|13
Alma and Gustav Mahler c.1909 | © Granger / Bridgeman Images
COVER FEATURE
‘WHY ARE BOYS TAUGHT TO USE THEIR BRAINS, BUT NOT GIRLS? ’ SHE RAILED.
As often as three times a week she went
In the rising young composer, Alexander
to the opera and was overwhelmed by the
Zemlinsky, she found the exacting teacher
grandeur and passion. Wagner’s Tristan
she needed. He heard her music, decided
and Isolde – ‘incomparable, unearthly’ with
that she had real talent but lacked
its ‘mad passion and boundless longing for
technical ability, and agreed to teach
the unknown ’ was her favourite.
her, alongside his other pupils Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. Zemlinsky
She was an accomplished pianist, took
was exacting but encouraging, could be
music lessons with the blind composer,
cruel and sarcastic, but he believed in
Josef Labor, from the age of 15, and
her talent and was ‘stimulating beyond
focused on composition. By 1897 she was
measure’ to her.
producing two or three piano pieces each week, variations or song arrangements
Alma’s most productive period was
based on works by her favourite poets.
between 1897 and 1901, when she was aged 18 to 21 and already showed
By 18, Alma had crystallised her
distinctive range and ability. Her songs,
astonishingly bold ambition to be a
often written in response to rejected love,
composer. Women were then barred
intense loneliness, grief at her father’s
from the music academies and female
death, are sensitive renderings of poetic
composers were unknown. Alma was
texts, emotional and technically complex,
undeterred. She wanted ultimately to do
skilful in their range of colour, harmonies
something no woman had ever achieved
and textures.
– to compose a really good opera. But she was plagued by crippling self-doubt.
Alma’s relationship with Zemlinsky
She saw her femininity as ‘weakness’,
deepened as they fell in love. Lessons
and feared that she lacked sufficient
dissolved into passionate embraces. They
application – and education: ‘Why are
talked of marriage. But when she met
boys taught to use their brains, but not
the composer Gustav Mahler at a friend’s
girls? ’ she railed.
dinner party in November 1901, her life
14|SCO NEWS
was thrown into turmoil. Within days,
creative gifts another life in minds greater
Mahler, the director of Vienna’s Court
than my own.’ And yet she added, ‘the iron
Opera, was declaring his love for her
had entered my soul and the wound was
and, despite his concern about their age
never healed.’
difference – he was 42, she 21 – talking of marriage. Alma spent weeks in anguish,
Even as Alma dedicated herself to her
torn between Zemlinsky, who believed
husband and to his music, which she
in her, and Mahler, whose passionate
grew to revere, music still ran through her
intensity was overwhelming.
head, sometimes ‘so loud and insistent that I hear it between every word I speak’.
She chose Mahler, but in December
Quite often she fell into depression, and
a passing comment about her work
knew that music could have cured it. She
provoked a 20-page letter in which Mahler
resented Mahler’s indifference: ‘Gustav,
effectively declared that there was room
why did you bind to you this splendid bird
for only one composer in their marriage. If
so happy in flight, when a grey, heavy
they were to marry, could she not abandon
one would have suited you better?’ she
her music and take possession of his? For
pleaded. By then she had ‘dragged’ her
the role of composer was his; hers was to
hundred songs with her ‘wherever I went
be ‘the loving partner and sympathetic
like a coffin into which I dared not look.’
comrade.’ Then one day, as she neared home from Though Alma was initially shattered – ‘as
a walk with her daughter, after a crisis
if a cold hand had torn the heart from my
in their marriage precipitated by her
breast, ’ within 24 hours, she accepted the
affair with Walter Gropius, she heard her
terms. She would renounce her music for
‘poor forgotten songs’ being played. She
a higher cause , to nurture and support his
stopped, petrified ‘overwhelmed with
great talent and make him happy.
shame and also angry.’ Mahler rushed out exclaiming , “What have I done? These
Alma stuck by her promise. But regret
songs are good. Really excellent.....God,
haunted her. ‘I buried my dream and
how blind and selfish I was in those days”.
perhaps it was for the best’, she wrote
He insisted they must be published, and
later. ‘It has been my privilege to give my
arranged for the most eminent singers
HER SONGS, OFTEN WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO REJECTED LOVE, INTENSE LONELINESS, GRIEF AT HER FATHER’S DEATH, ARE SENSITIVE RENDERINGS OF POETIC TEXTS, EMOTIONAL AND TECHNICALLY COMPLEX, SKILFUL IN THEIR RANGE OF COLOUR, HARMONIES AND TEXTURES.
SCO NEWS|xx
COVER FEATURE
Gustav Mahler with Alma and daughters Maria and Anna | © Fine Art Images / Bridgeman Images
to perform them. Alma blossomed in his
survive in published form. Most were
new-found admiration for her talents and
lost when Alma fled Austria with her
achievement.
Jewish husband in 1938, leaving behind everything she possessed.
When Mahler became terminally ill in 1911 her composing ended as she devoted
But as interest in neglected women
her life to nursing him over the months
composers grows, Alma’s distinctive talent
of his slow decline. When he died in May
steadily gains renewed recognition.
1911, she was stricken with grief. Playing
––––––
music was again her salvation. When she
ALMA & GUSTAV MAHLER
recovered, composing no longer consumed
WITH KAREN CARGILL
her. From then on, Alma perfected her
Conducted by Mark Wigglesworth
skills as the nurturer to creative talent,
30 & 31 January in Edinburgh and Glasgow
‘filling my garden with geniuses’, as she
––––––
put it. Of an output of perhaps up to a hundred works by Alma, only seventeen songs
Our Edinburgh concert is proudly sponsored by
16|SCO NEWS
2 SCO ON TOUR
1
SUMMER TOUR DATES 2020
3
Since 1979 we’ve been bringing high quality music to communities across the length and breadth of Scotland and this year is no different.
4 16
12
11 23
13 24
5
6 18
19 15
17 22 14 217
8 20
10
9
25
SCO NEWS|17
ON TOUR SUMMER 2020 ––––––
See you in: SHETLAND/ FINDHORN/ BALLACHULISH/ TOBERMORY/ MUSSELBURGH/ PAISLEY/ CASTLE DOUGLAS/ SELKIRK/ ELGIN/ FRASERBURGH/ KINGUSSIE/ EAST NEUK FESTIVAL/ STIRLING/ INVERNESS/ FORFAR/ OBAN/ CALLANDER/ TROON/ EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL/ ST ANDREWS/ INVERURIE/ BLAIR CASTLE and LAMMERMUIR FESTIVAL
DATE
TOUR
VENUE
Thursday 11 June
SCO Strings
1. Shetland Vidlin Village Hall
Friday 12 June
SCO Strings
2. Shetland Fetlar Village Hall
Saturday 13 June
SCO Strings
3. Shetland Lerwick Mareel
Thursday 11 June
SCO Wind Soloists
4. Findhorn Universal Hall
Friday 12 June
SCO Wind Soloists
5. Ballachulish Village Hall
Saturday 13 June
SCO Wind Soloists
6. Druimfin Mull Theatre, Tobermory
Wednesday 17 June
Full Orchestra
7. Musselburgh, Brunton Theatre
Thursday 18 June
Full Orchestra
8. Paisley Abbey
Friday 19 June
Full Orchestra
9. Castle Douglas Town Hall
Saturday 20th June
Full Orchestra
10. Selkirk Victoria Halls
Wednesday 1 July
Full Orchestra
11. Elgin Town Hall
Thursday 2 July
Full Orchestra
12. Fraserburgh United Reformed Church
Friday 3 July
Full Orchestra
13. Kingussie Badenoch Centre
Sunday 5 July
Full Orchestra
14. East Neuk Festival
Thursday 18 July
Full Orchestra
15. Stirling Castle
Friday 24 July
Full Orchestra
16. Inverness, Eden Court One Touch Theatre
Saturday 25 July
Full Orchestra
17. Forfar Reid Hall
Friday 31 July
Full Orchestra
18. Oban Corran Halls
Saturday 1 August
Full Orchestra
19. Callander McLaren High School
Sunday 2 August
Full Orchestra
20. Troon Concert Hall
August
Full Orchestra
21. Edinburgh International Festival
Thursday 10 September
Full Orchestra
22. St Andrews Holy Trinity Church
Friday 11 September
Full Orchestra
23. Inverurie Town Hall
Saturday 12 September
Full Orchestra
24. Blair Castle
Sunday 15 September
Full Orchestra
25. Lammermuir Festival
Sunday 13 September
Full Orchestra
25. Lammermuir Festival
18|SCO NEWS
CREATIVE LEARNING
NEW VIBE In collaboration with NHS Lothian Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
We know that music has the power to enrich lives, and that music-making in a welcoming and safe environment can support people with a wide range of social, emotional or practical needs, engaging those who feel marginalised and isolated. Mental health is one of the most important issues our society faces today and, with growing numbers of young people in our country struggling with a lack of mental well-being, it is as important as ever for us to deliver projects that have a positive impact. We recognise that engagement with creative arts can improve well-being, enabling people to express themselves, build confidence, reduce loneliness, and develop skills and hope for the future. We
We have recently deepened our
are proud to be at the forefront of arts
commitment in this area with the launch
organisations in Scotland offering high
of NEW VIBE, a project for teenagers
quality social prescribing projects that can
with diagnosed mental health problems.
make a real difference, working closely
Developed in partnership with the Child
with partners including the University of
and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Edinburgh and NHS Lothian to develop
(CAMHS), and supported by our Creative
projects which support well-being, recovery
Learning Partner Baillie Gifford, NEW
and social inclusion.
VIBE aims to provide a safe space for young people currently using the CAMHS service to feel heard, supported, and
‘IT’S A REALLY FUN AND EXCITING WAY TO EXPRESS YOURSELF’ Participant
encouraged to develop musically and socially. The project extends the work of SCO VIBE, a free open access programme which since 2013 has reached hundreds
SCO NEWS|19
‘WE WERE BLOWN AWAY BY THE POSITIVE IMPACT THAT NEW VIBE HAS HAD ON THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO TOOK PART.’ CAMHS team member
professional musicians, a carefully selected group of teenage peer mentors, and therapists from CAMHS. Paul and the team know how to work with young people in ways that make them feel respected, listened to, and free to express their creativity. Across three days, we used music workshop practices to develop participants’ musical confidence, selfesteem and positive social behaviours. All ideas put forward were given space to be explored, allowing every participant to take part on an equal footing, regardless of their ability or level of skill. The inaugural NEW VIBE course took Paul Griffiths with SCO VIBE
place from 19-21 October 2019 and it was deeply inspiring to see the transformative effects of collaborative
of young musicians and has helped them
music-making. The CAMHS team were
to develop confidence, social connections
delighted with the outcomes, saying “We
and musical skills. NEW VIBE builds on this
were blown away by the positive impact
practice to create an environment in which
that NEW VIBE has had on the young
young people suffering from mental health
people who took part.”
issues can benefit from expertly supported musical activities.
We’re very excited to be continuing our partnership with CAMHS and look forward
The young people who took part in our
to welcoming more young people to the
first NEW VIBE course in October had
next NEW VIBE project in February.
moderate to severe mental health issues
––––––
and were referred into the project by CAMHS. We invested substantial resource into training the project team, led by animateur Paul Griffiths and including
20|SCO NEWS
THOUGHTS ON BEETHOVEN…
COMING TO BEETHOVEN (BY WAY OF MENDELSSOHN) BY PROFESSOR NICHOLAS MARSTON
CERTAINLY, BEETHOVEN’S MUSIC, AND THE ‘HEROIC’ MUSIC ABOVE ALL, OFTEN CONVEYS A SENSE THAT ‘THIS IS HOW IT IS’, THAT THINGS SOMEHOW CANNOT BE OTHERWISE IN THIS MUSICAL UNIVERSE.
‘The British don’t know much about music,
of Beecham’s view is to be found in some
but they like the noise it makes’. This dictum,
comments of Felix Mendelssohn in a letter of
usually attributed to the conductor Sir
1842: ‘People usually complain that music is
Thomas Beecham, is worth treating rather
so ambiguous, and what they are supposed
more seriously than it might seem to deserve.
to think when they hear it is so unclear, while
Even while they ‘like the noise it makes’, it is
words are understood by everyone. But for
noticeable how often people seem to feel the
me it is exactly the opposite . . . what the music
need to apologise for not knowing anything
I love expresses to me are thoughts not too
about ‘classical’ music, or being able to
indefinite for words, but rather too definite’.
appreciate it properly – to ‘understand’ it. An admission of ignorance about cricket or
As is obvious, Mendelssohn was writing here
the offside rule will similarly be offered, but
about instrumental music, music without
usually without the same sense of guilt or
words (he was of course the great master of
personal regret. There are of course plenty of
that peculiar and characteristic keyboard
others who are completely untroubled by such
genre, the Lied ohne Worte, or ‘song without
things, and for whom ‘classical’ music is simply
words’). And behind what he had to say
a closed book; however much noise it may
there lies a veritable revolution that can
make, it holds no meaning for them.
be traced across the nearly three decades
That question of meaning is crucial. A more
separating the years 1790 and 1818. Not a
profound and elegantly expressed version
bloody revolution on the streets, as had begun
SCO NEWS|21
Beethoven through the ages
in France in 1789; this was a revolution in
Schopenhauer (1788–1860) in his treatise The
thought; thought about instrumental music.
World as Will and Representation, published in
What was such music, and what could it do?
that year. So far from being broadly enjoyable
While generalisations must always be treated
empty noise (as Beecham might have summed
with care, this shift in thinking can be neatly
up Kant’s position), instrumental music now
summarised in the opinions about music of
gave access to the ultimate reality of things,
two of the greatest philosophers of the period.
precisely those things that, as Mendelssohn
For Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), writing
knew, could not be captured in mere words.
about the arts in his Critique of Judgement (1790), music in general was a mere play of
What drove this remarkable shift in thinking?
sensations. For Kant, instrumental music was
Once again, generalisations are dangerous
the lowest of all the fine arts because it lacked
and no single cause can explain the matter.
any moral aim (‘it is enjoyable rather than
But there is a possible one-word answer that is
civilising’); words were essential to imbue it
not entirely wide of the mark: Beethoven.
with any kind of meaning or purpose. Born in Bonn in 1770, Beethoven was still The view from 1818 could hardly have been
living there in 1790, when Kant’s treatise was
more different. ‘Music is thus in no sense,
published. His move to Vienna in 1792 was
like the other arts, the image of ideas, but
yet to come, as was all the instrumental music
the image of the Will itself’. So wrote Arthur
for which he is best known today, although he
22|SCO NEWS
had already, two years before, begun working
his essay, which does not neglect to outline
on what would eventually become his Piano
some of the intricate motivic connections
Concerto No 2, Op 19. The year 1790, in fact,
threaded through the symphony, is the earliest
saw the composition and performance of two
account of what has become known as
little-known but significant texted works, the
Beethoven’s ‘heroic’ style.
Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II, WoO 87, and its companion Cantata on
The ‘heroic’ style is so named because it makes
the Accession of Emperor Leopold II, WoO
its first and most unequivocal appearance in
88. The former piece is especially important
the ‘Eroica’ Symphony, composed in 1803. It
not only in that it is the source of some of the
is characterised by massive dimensions (the
melodic material in Beethoven’s only opera,
‘Eroica’ was far longer than any symphony
Fidelio (1814; originally Leonore, 1805–6) but
hitherto composed, and considerably
also in that it is the first extended example of
challenged its listeners’ hearing capacity).
Beethoven’s so-called ‘C minor mood’, a key
It’s driving rhythms, motivic complexity and
that evidently held a particular charge for
goal-directed structures are conveyed almost
him. The best-known example is of course
viscerally to the listener and the ‘heroic’ style is
the Symphony No 5 in C minor, the opening
apparent in many of Beethoven’s most public
of which is known to millions, whether or not
works of the decade following the ‘Eroica’
they can name the piece from which it comes.
(thus, up to and including the Seventh and
Nonetheless, the symphony is only one of a rich
Eighth Symphonies). As with the ‘C minor
corpus of pieces that explore the expressive
mood’, it is closely associated with the key of
potential of this particular key, from the early
the ‘Eroica’, E flat major; that same key would
Piano Sonata Op 10 No 1 (c1795–97) to the
be used in 1809 for the no less heroic ‘Emperor’
very last Sonata, Op 111 (1821–22) via the
Concerto, Op 73, though it is worth pointing
Coriolan Overture (1807), the Choral Fantasia,
out that other works in the same key, such as
Op 80 (1808) and so many more.
the ‘Harp’ Quartet, Op 74 of the same year, and the Piano Trio in E flat, Op 70, No 2 (1808)
The Fifth Symphony, composed in 1807–8
employ a different emotional palette (or
and premièred at the notorious 4-hour-long
maybe just a quieter kind of ‘heroism’).
concert in freezing conditions in Vienna on 22 December 1808, brings us back to the shift
A more recent commentator, Scott Burnham,
in responses to instrumental music sketched
writing in his influential, ‘Eroica’-based book
above. E. T. A. Hoffmann’s famous critique
Beethoven Hero (1995) has simply claimed
of the symphony, first published in 1810,
that ‘the values of Beethoven’s heroic music
pre-empts Schopenhauer in claiming that
have become the values of all music’. Certainly,
instrumental music ‘is the most romantic of
Beethoven’s music, and the ‘heroic’ music
all the arts . . . because its only subject is the
above all, often conveys a sense that ‘this
infinite’. As for Beethoven, ‘his instrumental
is how it is’, that things somehow cannot be
music opens to us the realm of the monstrous
otherwise in this musical universe. Many find
and immeasurable’. Hoffmann is here allying
this compelling in an utterly positive, thrilling
Beethoven’s instrumental music to the
way; others report a sense of unease, feeling
aesthetic category known as the ‘sublime’; and
that this music is somehow coercive, and not
SCO NEWS|23
necessarily always in a good way. Despite having famously denounced Napoleon as a tyrant, and withdrawn his name from the title of his Third Symphony, has Beethoven somehow stepped into that tyrant’s shoes? By 1818, when Schopenhauer’s treatise appeared, Beethoven was embarking on his grandest piano sonata, the ‘Hammerklavier’, Op 106. It is not without its heroic aspects – the style remained available to Beethoven, and resurfaces in the Ninth; but Beethoven’s life and music had undergone radical shifts in many respects since 1812. Not least of which were the famous affair of the ‘Immortal Beloved’ and the struggle for guardianship of his nephew Karl, to say nothing of his now almost total deafness, and the ‘late’ music is shot through with uneasy ambiguities. Still to come, along with the Ninth, were the Missa solemnis, the last three piano sonatas and the late string quartets. Given Beethoven’s unchallengeable role in the establishment of a certain kind of instrumental music as perhaps the epitome of ‘classical’ music (and much of it certainly makes a lot of noise), there is perhaps an irony in that words increasingly make an appearance in his musical scores: Schiller’s An die Freude in the Ninth, of course; but also the vexed question and answer, ‘Muß es sein? Es muß sein!’ appearing above the finale of the last quartet, Op 135, and the remark prefacing the Kyrie of the Missa in Beethoven’s manuscript: ‘From the heart, may it reach again to the heart’. Those words, indeed, perhaps go to the very heart of the matter; even so, Mendelssohn got it right. –––––– 2019/20 Beethoven Symphony Cycle See sco.org.uk for more information Beethoven with a lyre-guitar. 1804–05 portrait by Joseph Willibrord Mähler
25Oth CELEBRATION
24|SCO NEWS
THOUGHTS ON BEETHOVEN…
LAURA COMINI SECOND VIOLIN
There are pieces that every musician remembers as milestones in their personal musical journey. Beethoven 7th and 9th represent this for me. I still remember the first time I played Beethoven 7th as a teenager in Florence. It was June and we were preparing for a concert with the late Carlo Maria Giulini. I remember the first time we run it through, and the warm summery light of that day. I remember the hopeful openness of the first movement and the excruciating beauty of the second. There is nothing quite as heartbreaking as falling in love with a piece of music when you are a teenager, when everything feels raw, black and white, life and death. I remember thinking that if I were to die in that very moment, I would still feel incredibly thankful for having had the gift to play this piece. Fast forward to 2014, Usher Hall, SCO, SCO Chorus, Maestro Krivine and
Two weeks later I was appointed. It’s
Beethoven 9th. It was my last project
easy to see fate in hindsight but I still
before the end of my trial with the SCO
feel an incredible connection between
and I knew that the orchestra was going
these two pivotal moments in my life. And
to decide shortly after that whether to
how amazing it is that we are playing
appoint me or not. The Choir was singing
Beethoven 9th again with Krivine this
their hearts out, I looked around at my
season! I cannot wait! Put it in your diaries
colleagues and everybody was on fire.
and come to our concerts! I promise you
I remember thinking “we are going to
won’t regret it!
blow the roof off the Usher Hall” and
––––––
immediately after that “I will be so
Beethoven Symphonies Nos 8 & 9 ‘Choral’
crushed if they don’t give me the job”.
14-15 May in Edinburgh and Glasgow
SPEM IN ALIUM 29 FEBRUARY 2020, 7.30pm GREYFRIARS KIRK, EDINBURGH Bringing to life music spanning 500 years, from Henry Purcell to Eric Whitacre, the SCO Chorus will perform works exploring themes of redemption, salvation and hope, concluding with Tallis’ Renaissance
TALLIS Salvator Mundi MACMILLAN Four Strathclyde Motets
masterpiece Spem in Alium.
POULENC Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence
Weaving 40 individual vocal lines into a
PURCELL Hear my Prayer
majestic tapestry of sound, Spem in Alium is one of the most glorious pieces of choral music ever written. Join the SCO Chorus for this mesmerising performance in the evocative setting of Greyfriars Kirk during its 400th anniversary year.
BOOK NOW AT SCO.ORG.UK
WHITACRE Three Flower Songs TALLIS Spem in Alium — GREGORY BATSLEER – Conductor SCO CHORUS
26|SCO NEWS
PATRON EVENTS
PATRONS VISIT THE SCO CHORUS With the recent growth of the SCO
Greg, whose passion and enthusiasm
Chorus’ profile and reputation and in
for the SCO Chorus was evident,
the 10th Anniversary year of Gregory
Patrons were invited to take their seat
Batsleer’s tenure as SCO Chorus Director,
in the pews of Broughton St Mary’s to
we thought it would be timely to give
observe the Chorus rehearse sections of
Patrons an insight into what a typical
Stravinsky’s Mass and Haydn’s Harmony
Monday evening rehearsal looks like for
Mass. Patrons commented that it was
one of the UK’s finest amateur choirs.
fascinating to see the minute detail that Greg demanded from the singers
Following a fascinating introduction from
and how they could now appreciate the
WIN £250 ––––––
250 SOCIETY Just £5 a month as a member of the 250 Society gives you the chance to scoop £250 in our monthly draw at the same time as knowing that you are contributing towards the SCO’s Creative Learning programme. level of work that goes into preparing
Please join us in congratulating recent
performances. They also commented that
winners of our 250 Society:
hearing Greg shed light on how Haydn and Stravinsky treat the same text, and
November – Martin Locher
having this rare opportunity to see an
October – Eileen Henry
early rehearsal, would greatly enhance
September – Neil Ballantyne
their experience of the concert. ––––––
To learn more about the 250 Society
To learn more about becoming a Patron,
or to join now, contact Laura Hickey on
please contact Laura Hickey on 0131 478 8344.
0131 478 8344.
28|SCO NEWS
SEASON 2019/20
FREE PRE-CONCERT INSIGHTS AND PERFORMANCES All events take place from 6.45-7.15pm (unless otherwise stated) and are free to concert ticket holders.
Alma Mahler
Robert McFall
Thursday 16 January, Edinburgh Queen’s Hall Artist Insights: Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev discusses the evening’s programme.
Wednesday 4 March, Perth Concert Hall Artist Insights: Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev discusses the evening’s programme.
Saturday 18 January, Aberdeen Music Hall Artist Insights: Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev discusses the evening’s programme.
Thursday 19 March, Edinburgh Queen’s Hall Friday 20 March, Glasgow City Halls Sunday 22 March, 3.15-3.45pm, Inverness Eden Court Theatre Artist Insights: Robert McFall (former SCO Violin) discusses the influence of folk themes in Hungarian music.
Thursday 30 January, Edinburgh Usher Hall Friday 31 January, Glasgow City Halls Composer Insights: Author Cate Haste and SCO Creative Learning Director Kirsteen Davidson Kelly discuss the life and music of Alma Mahler.
Pekka Kuusisto
Thursday 23 April, Edinburgh Queen’s Hall Friday 24 April, Glasgow City Halls Artist Insights: Nico Muhly discusses his new Violin Concerto ‘Shrink’ with Pekka Kuusisto. Thursday 7 May, Edinburgh Queen’s Hall Friday 8 May, Glasgow City Halls Storytelling Insights: Join storyteller Anna Lehr and SCO Cello Eric de Wit for a musical tale inspired by Mendelssohn’s love of Scotland. Suitable for all ages.
SCO PLATFORM
SCO PLATFORM: Pre-Concert Performances by Scotland’s Young Musicians All events take place from 6.45-7.15pm and are free to concert ticket holders.
––––––
Thursday 5 March, Edinburgh Usher Hall SCO Platform: Performance by pupils from St Mary’s Music School.
Thursday 12 March, Edinburgh Usher Hall SCO Platform: Performance by students from the University of Edinburgh.
Friday 6 March, Glasgow City Halls SCO Platform: Performance by pupils from the Music School of Douglas Academy.
Saturday 14 March, Aberdeen Music Hall SCO Platform: Performance by pupils from Aberdeen City Music School.
EXPLORE BEETHOVEN | MUSICAL CREATIVITY AND DEAFNESS SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2020, 10AM – 1.15PM ST CECILIA’S HALL AND MUSEUM, EDINBURGH Join us for a morning of talks and performances by a Scottish Chamber Orchestra string quartet as we explore Beethoven’s life as a deaf musician and composer. There is a loop system in the hall and all talks will be BSL-interpreted.
–––––– Full details, including ticket prices and how to book, can be found on our website: sco.org.uk Or you can email: joanna.burns@sco.org.uk or call Joanna on 0131 478 8342
30|SCO NEWS
JOIN THE CONVERSATION ––––––
YOUR SAY It’s been a fantastic start to the season with many memorable moments. Reuniting with the Orchestra as our new Principal Conductor, Maxim conducted Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ Symphony in November. We’ve celebrated other momentous occasions too – from the Queen Hall’s 40th anniversary to 10 years with Gregory Batsleer as SCO Chorus Director. Not to mention the release of our new recording of Schubert No 9 which received five-star
Sign up for our email newsletter For all our latest news, films, photos, blogs and special offers, visit SCO.ORG.UK/LATEST Email us Sophie Sim, Marketing Officer sophie.sim@sco.org.uk Comment on Facebook facebook.com/scottishchamberorchestra Share your experience on Twitter @SCOmusic Share your experience on Instagram @scottishchamberorchestra #mySCO
reviews. We love hearing your thoughts and here is some of the feedback we’ve had from our audiences so far.
MAXIM’S FIRST PERFORMANCE AS PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR No baton. No podium. No stage (not much anyway). Just love. Emelyanchev and orchestra. Fabulous. Can’t wait for rest of this series!
Derek Zuckert @derekz1 Excellent @SCOmusic Jupiter symphony tonight. Orchestra played out of their skins spurred on by Maxim turning the pages of his score with feral intensity. Added to the mother of Mozart’s (many) earworms, what was there not to like.
Philip Whitley, @PhilipWhitley13
ANNE CLYNE PREMIERES NEW WORK @SCOmusic super concert of Clyne & Haydn. How daring Haydn’s 60th must have seemed in 18th century – and a great inspiration for @annaclyne who has created a wonderful piece of music. Orchestra rose to the challenge. Fantastic evening.
Kate Main @tram_cat Jephtha with @SCOmusic at the @bbcproms was stunning. All the singers were tremendous.
David Glynn @broadwoodsquare
UNDER 18S
It has 100% changed my confidence by 100%
I assumed my children would not like classical music until my son visited a concert with school and all my children wanted to go. They loved it so much four of them now play musical instruments. Who knows what a concert can do for your kids? @SCOmusic
SCO VIBE Participant, Aberdeen
Gilly Herbert @GillyHerbert
SCO VIBE
THROUGH THE EYES OF... LOUISE GOODWIN PRINCIPAL TIMPANI with PERCUSSION Can you tell us a little bit about your musical
the Schubert recording we did with Maxim,
background prior to the SCO?
although I was a little terrified as I was on trial
Violin was my first instrument, which I started
and it was my first time doing a recording on
aged 5! Percussion took over as my favourite
timps! I also really loved playing West Side
instrument in my teens, when I learnt it at
Story at Edinburgh International Festival as the
school and then went to the Junior Royal
music is just so great. I’m really really looking
Northern College of Music on a Saturday.
forward to continuing with the Beethoven cycle
I was then fortunate to get a place at the
as I haven’t had the opportunity to play all the
RCM in London where I completed my
symphonies yet.
undergraduate degree. The course at the Royal College of Music was fantastic for
What makes performing with the SCO
percussionists because we would study all
special?
genres of music and whilst I was there, I really
I think that the reason performing with the
discovered how much I enjoyed orchestral
SCO is really special is because in a chamber
music. I’ve been really lucky to play a large
ensemble every single person’s contribution
variety of styles, from contemporary
to the music is heightened. You really feel like
chamber music with the London Sinfonietta,
the players are making active, live decisions
symphonic orchestral music with the
about how the music should go, during
symphony orchestras in London as well as
the rehearsals and the concerts. There is a
doing an opera scheme with English National
certain level of flexibility that comes with the
Opera and a year on the Orchestra Age of
ensemble being a nimbler machine, and this
Enlightenment scheme thinking about how
makes performances so exciting because
best to play in a period instrument ensemble.
you can never be sure quite how they are going to go. Tempo, dynamics and phrasing
What have been your SCO highlights so far?
are all up for grabs, and you can take the
One project that sticks out of the first few that
opportunity to lead and collaborate in equal
I did is playing Beethoven 7 on the Highlands
measure. For this reason, I also particularly
Tour in 2018, partly because I love the symphony
enjoy the opportunity to play unconducted
but also because it was my first time visiting
as this is a rare thing for a timpanist! From
the Highlands; the weather was fantastic,
a selfish point of view, I love playing the
everyone was in high spirits and as always the
classic repertoire that the SCO play on the
attention, detail and musicality of the Orchestra
timps and using the pots (a period timpani
was overwhelming. I also really enjoyed
instrument).
PATRONS
SUPPORT US PLAY YOUR PART IN OUR FUTURE SCO.ORG.UK/SUPPORT-US Join our family of Patrons for as little as £5 a month. For more information, please get in touch with Laura Hickey, Development Officer, on 0131 478 8344 or laura.hickey@sco.org.uk The SCO is a charity registered in Scotland No SC015039.