19 minute read
AT HOME WITH THE SCO
When we asked some of the SCO players how they are keeping busy and staying positive during this challenging time, they told us it was with a mixture of birdsong, Bach, baking, broadcasting, babies and Bartók. Oh, and practice. Lots of practice. So some things never change. Read on to find out more.
COVER FEATURE
AISLING O’DEA FIRST VIOLIN
After a six-month sabbatical from the SCO, I was due to return on 30 March when we were to be joined by the wonderful Andrew Manze and Xavier de Maistre, but suddenly we found ourselves on this diversion route, not entirely sure as to where the destination may be.
One thing I noticed pretty much straight away was, when in my garden here in the New Town of Edinburgh, how beautiful the birdsong is and how every evening we can see Venus so clearly in the sky – no airplanes, no street noise, no suitcases being dragged over the cobbles – peace and quiet. Back in late March and missing playing with fellow musicians, I discovered the Acapella App on my phone. When asked to contribute to the social media presence for the SCO I remembered I have the two volumes of all Bartók’s 44 violin duos so decided to try this app out and played a beautiful Slovakian song playing both parts myself! It was quite a strange experiment and new experience, but I then approached a couple of colleagues to see if we could collaborate and it worked! Steph and I played a couple of Berio duos together and Siún, my wonderful desk partner, and I are working on another couple of Bartók duos this week.
Another thing I’ve discovered is lemon and rosemary polenta cake; I never bake! Looking through kitchen cupboards and discovering foods and spices I never knew we had, I’ve been having fun discovering new dishes and having the time to do it. That said, I miss performing and making live music and look forward to when we can all be together sharing music with you all again.
In the meantime, take care and see you in the not too distant future.
All the best, Aisling
COVER FEATURE
STEVE KING VIOLA
This lockdown period resembles the time my lovely wife Anne and I spend at our cottage which is located in a very remote part of the west coast of Scotland. It’s so nice and peaceful there where we enjoy doing the simple things in life, like cooking, reading and walking our dog. It is also an environment where I feel inspired and tend to get a lot of work done, including my Heriot-Watt work, so I guess you could say that in some ways, life at home right now, is not much different to those trips away.
However, that is not to say that there haven’t been some low points in this ‘new reality’. The cancellation of concerts, for me, was incredibly disappointing, albeit understandable in the present climate. I do remind myself of how very lucky I am to be part of an orchestra that plays music with some of the world’s finest musicians. I really miss this privilege and the camaraderie of working alongside my amazing, cherished friends and colleagues.
Regarding my viola, I am practising every day to keep the sound and technique of my playing up to par and I’ve chosen music and exercises that really focuses on that, such as Bach’s Fantasia Chromatica, Stravinky’s Elegy and my project ‘Music from the Scottish Enlightenment’. One ‘Lockdown Project’ I’ve spent quite a bit of time involved in, and which you may have seen shared across different social media channels, has been with my Heriot-Watt #OneWatt Voices. As some of you know, I am also Director of Music at Heriot-Watt University, and like many other Institutions, we have had to think creatively on how to connect with our students and larger ‘online audience’. As I was contemplating how much we would dearly like to revert to ‘life as we knew it pre-lockdown’ – it occurred to me that my #OneWatt Voices who sing at the HeriotWatt graduations have sung the 1970’s hit: ‘I want you back’, by the Jackson 5 on a few occasions. “Let’s make a remote video of them singing this”, I thought, and shared the idea with the group. The students were fully up for this and recorded their parts remotely on their iPhones in their houses, kitchens and bedrooms from all around Scotland, England, Spain and Germany.
COVER FEATURE
My nephew, Simon King, an amazing musician, got involved and mixed everyone’s individual recordings to create the final track. It was enormous fun, inspirational and hard work but so, so worth it when we finally heard the final production. If you have seen it, I hope it lifts your spirits as it does mine, and makes you smile.
MARCUS BARCHAM STEVENS PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN
I should have been playing in an SCO concert in Eden Court Theatre in Inverness on 22 March at 4 pm, and so my wife Christina Lawrie and I decided to post our first online #ConcertFromOurLivingRoom at that exact time.
We still have lots of family up there and know lots of concertgoers and music-lovers in and around Inverness, Newtonmore and Nairn who would have been looking forward to seeing us, so it seemed like a good way to mark the cancelled performance. It was also a lovely way for our little girl to wish Happy Mother’s Day to her two grandmothers.
Having started this project, it’s now our plan to keep the concerts going all the way through the lockdown period. One of our main aims has been to share the solace and joy of music in this strange time, and to maintain a sense of community and connectedness. The lockdown was necessary and we were relieved when it was announced, but it’s a heartbreaking situation for so many reasons. One of the things which saddened us was the loss of community. Knowing the music scene in Scotland and around the UK, we are aware that for many music-lovers, concert-going is at the heart of their social life. Going to concerts can be a lifeline, bringing friendship and a sense of purpose and focus, at the same time as enabling people to experience the thrill of live performances of great music. With all that in mind, we decided to set up a regular concert series from home.
Getting to grips with the technology has been a big challenge. We had to learn how to operate a video camera, work out how to set up mics and good lighting, set up a YouTube channel, learn the hard way about the need for video compression software (our laptop broke down!) and join Twitter (yes, we are very late to the Twitter party!).
We have received so many messages since starting our living room concert series, and we have replied to every single one received to date. People have been telling us how much they miss their own music-making, in chamber groups and local orchestras, and we have been happy to make suggestions about isolation repertoire, and even remote duo work!
COVER FEATURE
LOUISE GOODWIN TIMPANI / PERCUSSION
Hello readers, lockdown Lou here.
When asked how lockdown is going, I can’t help but be reminded of the opening scene in that early noughties classic film, ‘About a Boy’. In it, Hugh Grant lives alone in a very swanky house with no need to work as he receives a constant stream of royalties from his father’s 70’s Christmas No1. In his opening scene, he talks through how he spends his time;
‘I find the key is to think of a day as units of time... ... each unit consisting of no more than 30 minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating... ... and most activities take about half an hour.’
When I reflect on it, it seems that I’ve been coping with all of this in a similar way. Obviously without the Christmas No1 royalties and swanky house (maybe Christmas 2021, SCO?). What have I been doing during lockdown? Well, a string of different activities helps me spend those ‘units of time’ – reading a book, going for a run, cleaning the flat, sitting in the garden, cooking and washing up and more cooking and washing up, and all of a sudden it’s time for a G&T and telly and sleep. And repeat. Personally, I have been struggling with feeling that I’m a little useless – without going to work and playing I feel quite purposeless, and I’m sure that many people across all industries are feeling the same. However, I have been very uplifted listening to radio broadcasts of the SCO, and our Schubert recording with Maxim. As well as enjoying the beauty of the music, it’s a reminder of a normality that feels so distant at the moment. I miss the Orchestra and working so much and cannot wait to get back in the same room with everyone and play for ourselves and for you, our audience.
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I won’t end on a negative though – every day I am cheered by little things that I don’t normally notice. Today’s funny event; we’ve just received a text from our neighbour (we text our neighbours now that we have had time to meet them and chat – a great positive) saying that he’s just caught one of our cats coming out of a window in the flats opposite. I wondered where Tig went all day, it seems he’s got a second family who are probably even more generous with the treats!
Hope to see you all soon, stay safe. Lou.
WILLIAM STAFFORD SUB-PRINCIPAL CLARINET
Warm greetings to you all and I hope you are doing well throughout this unusual period. It is heartening to know that, despite the physical distance, we are still very much in each other’s thoughts and united as a family.
Throughout this time I have been living quite simply and much of my inspiration has come through the unfolding spring life taking place around me – the trees of Greyfriars Kirkyard coming into leaf, the appearance of golden-yellow gorse on Blackford Hill, the cherry blossoms coming into bloom on The Meadows, and the birds singing outside my window. I feel fortunate to live in such beautiful surroundings.
Music has continued to provide a source of happiness for me. It has been lovely to hear so many online offerings from musicians all over the world. I have particularly enjoyed the contributions of my colleagues in the SCO and thank you so much for your generous feedback and encouragement. I have had the opportunity to make friends with a new instrument – the chalumeau. It was developed in the late Baroque era and is the predecessor of the modern-day clarinet. I have been enjoying exploring its soothing tonal qualities. We were due to be using these instruments in March in a Baroque programme with Maxim.
I share a flat with my husband Sky, and we have been enjoying cooking (he has introduced some new dishes), practising yoga and meditation, and occasionally playing table tennis. He is a wonderful dancer and has introduced me to some online dance improvisation classes.
It has been lovely to keep in touch with friends and family through online means. Warmest wishes once more and looking forward to the time when we can enjoy concerts in the same room again!
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RUTH CROUCH ASSISTANT LEADER
Whilst I miss performing for an audience and making music with my SCO friends and colleagues, I am actually enjoying the opportunity to do more practice and to reflect on and research music. I am also continuing to teach my students from St Mary’s Music School and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on Zoom, which has taken a lot of time (and frustration!) to set up. The sound and synchronisation aren’t ideal, but it is helping to keep them going during lockdown.
As a professional musician I find it is hard to feel bored or lonely as I am used to spending hours with only my lovely violin for company. I feel a bit sorry for my neighbours as I have been practising many more scales than usual and doing a lot of technical work – partly to try things out before I let them loose on my unsuspecting students. I also have more time to try out playing with a baroque bow, which will be useful for some of the concerts with Maxim when we get back to performing again, and am reading Jaap Schröder’s performer’s guide to Bach’s solo violin works. Another interest is in the physical side of violin playing and how to avoid unnecessary tension. I have a long acquaintance with the Alexander Technique and have found its principles very valuable in my own playing but would like to have more anatomical knowledge to pass on to my students. I’m doing quite a bit of reading around this subject too.
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All this probably sounds very ‘anoraky’! I must say that the highlight of my day in lockdown involves going for a walk locally, coinciding with my daughter and 8-month-old granddaughter – at a suitable distance of course – who live nearby.
I wish our audience all the best during this difficult time and look forward to seeing you all again as soon as possible.
THROUGH THE EYES OF...
JUDITH COLMAN Concerts Director
How did you come to be the Concerts Director at the SCO and what does your role involve? After having spent 13 busy years in London as General Manager of Trevor Pinnock’s period-instrument band The English Concert, I’d been freelancing for almost a year when in 1995 I met Richard Hyder, then a member of SCO’s Concerts Department, at a wedding reception in Dumfries. After talking to Richard, the job sounded like a perfect fit …
I work closely with our CEO (formerly Roy McEwan, now Gavin Reid), in planning and coordinating the artistic activity of SCO and the SCO Chorus – our Season concerts, summer work, engagements, overseas tours and recordings – and with Team Concerts in ensuring that a huge volume of behindthe-scenes logistics, budgeting, negotiation, personnel issues and general admin is covered. It’s a bit like continuous three-dimensional chess, trying to ensure we have a good variety and balance of work throughout year.
We start planning the main Season about two years out, so plans for the 2021/22 Season are now well advanced. We’re also planning well beyond this, for our main Season and overseas touring.
It would be lovely to think that it’s all about artistic idealism but there are many pragmatic considerations. SCO is a freelance orchestra with 38 positions, and we try to include all our performing members in as many programmes as possible. During the main Season we perform weekly in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and regularly (although less often) in the other main Scottish cities. Every few months we review plans with the other Scottish orchestras; the aim is to maintain distinctiveness and avoid artist/repertoire clashes. We also have to keep a weather eye on the finances at all times.
Key to the SCO’s planning is a framework of strong musical relationships, particularly with our named artists. I spend a lot of time liaising with our Principal Conductor, Associate Artists, Chorus Director and other visiting artists and their agents. Gavin and I try not only to nurture and develop our existing relationships but to keep refreshing the mix by introducing new ideas and musical personalities. Each year we also feature many of the superb soloists and chamber musicians within the SCO, who each have their own loyal following amongst our audiences.
When planning, especially if there are specific themes we want to pursue, we think about which conductors would bring something special to that repertoire. We aim to play to the strengths of our visiting artists and create an interesting schedule of work, ranging from late 17th century repertoire to brand new
commissions. The SCO is known for its stylistic flexibility and virtuosity and its players want to be artistically stretched – therefore, many of our visiting artists are specialists who bring extraordinary insight in their fields of music. It was Sir Charles Mackerras, during his long and fruitful relationship with SCO, who instilled a style of playing that was truly ‘historically aware’. Now, we regularly welcome experts in historically-informed performance practice such as Kristian Bezuidenhout, Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr; and in other specialist fields such as contemporary music with the great composer-conductors Sir James MacMillan and Sir George Benjamin. Other regular visitors, such as Emmanuel Krivine, François Leleux, Joseph Swensen, John Storgårds and Pekka Kuusisto, bring a special affinity for particular composers, or different kinds of programming. What are the biggest challenges of the job? The best-laid plans have a habit of going pear-shaped; things invariably start shifting when the Season is already blocked in, so programmes/artists may need to be swopped round. And sometimes things go wrong at the last minute. There was a particularly torrid phase a few years ago, when conductors and soloists seemed to be going sick every couple of weeks! It can be somewhat daunting trying to replace carefully-chosen artists with new ones who are (a) suited to the repertoire in question and (b) actually (as opposed to “in principle”) free – and to negotiate conditions, arrange new travel and hotel bookings, send music materials and issue new contracts against the clock. Once a new artist is confirmed, the whole Concerts team swings into action to put the new plans together. Every now and then we manage to pull something out of the fire and introduce an exceptional artist (like Maxim!). Now, while things are so uncertain, we’re in contact with all our artists and their managers to work out what the future will bring, and what we may be able to re-schedule. And what’s the most rewarding thing about it? I get enormous pleasure from hearing the Orchestra play, especially when the combination of conductor, soloists, repertoire and orchestra is a fruitful one – it’s a great feeling when the musical sparks are flying! I also really enjoy the process of planning and bringing all the moving parts together. It’s particularly satisfying to have played a part in the formation of new artistic relationships for the Orchestra. You’re a member of the SCO Chorus, what are you looking forward to the Chorus performing next Season? Brahms’ wonderful German Requiem with Maxim. If you weren’t involved in music, what other career might you have pursued? Probably something health-related – I was a volunteer at Middlesex Hospital for many years before I moved to Scotland, so it was a definite possibility at one stage.
THROUGHOUT THE SEASON AND DURING THE SUMMER.
YOUR SAY
LIVE FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM
In the absence of our concerts, the SCO Players have continued to create online performances sharing music from their homes to yours. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Going to make our way through this wonderful selection of music – not the same watching on the PC but boy does it fill a bit of a gap where there should have been live concerts.
Betty and David
Just a little note to say thank you so much for the amazing little concert slots from the most amazing people. Please pass on my grateful thanks Maxim, Nikita, Alison, Marcus and Christina and Eric for taking time to treat us.
May
Thank you all for this inspired compilation of messages and the chance to hear some music at home.
Jenny
I must thank you and commend you for sharing your great music online at this difficult time. It certainly brings some muchneeded joy and peace in frantic times.
Johnny C Murty @JcsmMurty
Really missed hearing you play last week! Hope it won’t be long before we see you on stage again. Meanwhile, thanks for lifting our spirits with this video!
The Roving Scotsman @roving_scotsman
19/20 SEASON FINAL CONCERTS
Prior to the decision being made to cancel the remaining concerts in our 19/20 Season we had two fabulous concerts to conclude: Beethoven 6 & 7 with Maxim Emelyanychev and Nicola Benedetti performing Mozart & Mendelssohn.
Brilliant concert last night by the wonderful @SCOmusic & #MaximEmelyanychev of Beethoven’s 6th & 7th symphonies. The performances were full of effervescence and beauty, absolutely loved it!
We’ve had a great season, I was in tears at the end of Beethoven’s 7th, it just affects me that way and it was a wonderful performance.
James
What an amazing night watching Nicola Benedetti perform with SCO and Lawrence Power. Feeling the buzz from the girls as they absorbed the performance and loved it! @SCOmusic @NickyBenedetti
Gilly Herbert @GillyHerbert
SCO RECORDING OF BIZET’S CARMEN WITH FRANCOIS LELEUX
Our latest recording of Bizet: Carmen Suite No 1 & Gounod: Petite Symphonie with François Leleux was released in March.
We are so excited that @leleux_francois’ new album Bizet/Gounod w/ Leleux conducting @SCOmusic has reached No.7 in UK Classical Charts! ‘Leleux elicits a balanced variety of warmth & nimble lucidness from the Orchestra’ @TheScotsman
Harrison Parrott @HarrisonParrott
Wonderful memories of our recording. CD just out getting great reviews. Dream team for Gounod Petite Suite. @SCOmusic @LinnRecords @bsnlady
20/21 CONCERT SEASON PROGRAMME
In many ways, #RobinTicciati paved the way for #MaximEmelyanychev: without the former’s revelatory #SymphonieFantastique (with which today’s playlist concludes), I doubt we’d have the #Pathétique or #Sheherazade to look forward to next @SCOmusic Season. Much to look forward to!
Anthony Mudge @awmudge
What a wonderful season it has been so far. Wishing you all good health. And looking forward to the next season.
Allison Littlejohn @allisonl
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