Seasons to be cheerful
Fans of classicial music need not pine at the end of the International Festival as the autumn has a whole raft of quality nights out on, as Carol Main finds out.
ithdrawal symptoms lollowing the
end ol the inusical riches ollered by
this year‘s lidinburgh l"estiml. hpr is now at hand. Brochure alter brochure has been lalling through the letterbox. the y'ai‘ious winter seasons they adyertise lorming a sort ol elongated lestiyal lasting lrom now until spring. But where do you start'.’ There‘s ey'erything lrom (‘hildren‘s (‘lassic ('onccrts to the BBC SS()‘s unlikely celebration ol the Viola.
Stalwarts ol what is going on in lidinburgh and (ilitsgt)\\"s classical music lile are the national companies v the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. the Scottiin (‘hamber ()rchestra. Scottish ()pera. the Scottish linsemble and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. ll you live in (ilasgow and always go to the pub on liriday nights. then you are in luck with the RSNO. 'l‘heir (ilasgow concerts are generally Saturdays at the (‘oncert “all. But il you Me in lidinburgh and behaye similarly. habits might base to change il you want to hear principal conductor Alexander l.a/.are\' in what will be his last season since being appointed in l‘)‘)7. ()r. ol course. take the Saturday night train to (ilasgow to hear him in a selection ol his own layourites. such as 'l‘chaikoy'sky‘s mighty Symphony No 4 to open the season or what will surely be an electric combination ol I.a/.arey and Shostakoy'ich the lollowing ()ctober weekend.
l’ure limotion is how the S(‘() label their season on the lront ol their autumn- coloured brochure. They too are losing their principal conductor Very soon. Joseph Swensen has been a highly signilicant lorce in the orchestra‘s dey'elopment oyer the past ten years and many ol the hallmarks ol his time with the S(‘() can be seen in the programmes he has chosen to conduct. There will also be some stunning soloists — the young l‘innish Violinist l’ekka Is'uusisto playing Sibelius in Noy'ember is one in particular to look out lor. Also running through the season are two specilic strands — .‘ylo/art Plus. an anticipatory celebration ol the 250th anniy‘ersary ol his birth in 2006. and .-\dy'enturer. which leatures new innsic alongside leth century classics.
Scottish ()pera are lacing dark times linancially. and it is the dark psychological dramas ol Blue/ward and [irii'urnmg that they turn to for their opening ey‘ent. Both new productions. they are lollowed in
THERE'S EVERYTHING FROM CHILDREN'S CLASSIC CONCERTS TO THE BBC SSO'S UNLIKELY CELEBRATION OF THE VIOLA
The Belcea Quartet
Noyembcr by l’uccini layourite 'l'osr'u in Anthony Bcsch‘s particularly striking \‘L‘l'sltill. lirst seen in I‘)S().
lior innoy‘atiy'e deals on tickets. the l'shcr Hall's International (‘lassics series is hard to heat. A child can go lrce with an adult. and students get a lrce intery'al beer or wine thrown in when they book a seat. (iiy'cn that these concerts are by lainous name
international orchestras. such as the Vienna Symphony ('l‘onkunstler) and St l’etersburg
Symphony playing well known classics such as Beethoy‘en‘s lz'roir'u and Rachmaninoy's 2nd Symphony. it is dillicult to go wrong with them.
ll. howeyer. the big symphony sound is too much. there is some exquisite chamber music to be lound in the 'I‘unnell 'l‘rust's Queen's Hall series in lidinburgh. The Belcea Quartet are central to its certain success. playing Haydn. Bartok and Mozart. with the ultimate hiin point being in December when they join with the (‘allino Quartet lor Mendelssohn‘s glorious and wonderlully' melodic ()ctet. Iidinburgh is also host to the (ieorgian (‘oncert Society. which presents sey'en concerts ol early music. while the Scottiin linsemble's season is remarkable lor taking its broad range ol repertoire and astonishing line-up ol young inusicians to people throughout Scotland.
()h. the children‘s concerts. Well. you need a child to take you and do be prepared lor audience participation. And the Viola lestiy'al is in (ilasgow met" the last weekend in Noyember.
See classical listings for details or visit www.bbc.co.uk/bbcsso, www.chiIdrensclassicconcerts.co.uk, www.gcs.org.uk, www.rsno.org.uk, www.sco.org.uk, www.scottishensemble.co.uk, www.5cottishopera.org.uk, www.tunne|ltrust.org.uk, www.usherhall.co.uk
SURFACENOISE
A// the shouden'ns. hoetrou ns
and buttioims‘ the iiontrerto/
nor/o of music
RADIO FORTH HAVE SET UP A new prize for aspiring musicians. The Tom Wilson Award, established in memory of the late great Forth DJ, offers a £1000 grant to set budding musicians on their way to chart success. The award is open to individuals and groups in east central Scotland pursuing a career in the music industry and all musical genres will be considered. Entrants must be aged under 21. The award winner will receive their prize at an awards ceremony at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh in November. The closing date for nominations is 1 October. For details on how to apply visit www.forthone.co.uk
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new ‘.'t:lttl(3 to haunt from this month
onwards as thel Xtil‘ittlltlt: orient; ll‘. doors on i' October. lhe Jot)
tiilletl .12; .‘i little Sister venue to the (Lorri l xr‘harrrie
(Zill)£l(‘.ll‘y’ venue
—rs on (iroxe Street III the city's West I nd and Wlll play host to .i diverse range of acts With (,’\.":l‘,’( me from former Stranglers man lltltlll (lornwell and .Jo Malrk to Chomhawarntin. Who Will all he appearing over the (:ornrnr; inonths.
ll‘liii ilail ::ii::lt:;2l;:~;: Having flitted in and out of the shadows via the Specials, Colourfield and numerous musical adventures with everyone from Tricky to Sinead O‘Connor, Terry Hall remains pretty much unclassifiable in modern musical terms. These upcoming shows have him in collaboration with electronic beatsmiths the Dub Pistol and are courtesy of Rizla’s ‘lnspired by’ series. You can win a pair of tickets for one of the shows at the Barfly on 30 September and 1 October. To be in with a chance to get a pair of tickets for one of the shows, email us with you name and a contact telephone number and which dates you’d like to go on to promotions@list.co.uk by 28 September. Usual List rules
apply.
2: Sen—T U.‘ THE LIST 49
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