www.list.co.uk/music
Saturday 6
Glasgow ■ Kelvin Ensemble Bute Hall, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, 330 4092. 7.30pm. £8 (£4). Chris Swaffer conducts a programme of seasonal movie classics, including the music from The Snowman. With a special guest narrator. ■ Royal Scottish National Orchestra: The Damnation of Faust Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £10–£28 (concessions available). Stéphane Denève conducts the RSNO chorus and a fine group of soloists in a rare performance of Berlioz’s Mephistophelean ‘dramatic legend’, based on the traditional German tale of a man who made a pact with the devil. Pre- concert talk at 6.45pm. See preview, right
Edinburgh ■ Edinburgh University Brass Band Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh University, Bristo Square, 650 2427. 7.30pm. £5 (£3). Angus Tully conducts. ■ Music for the Feast of St Nicolas St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, 23 Palmerston Place, 225 6293. 7.30pm. £10 (accompanied schoolchildren free). Les Shankland conducts the Chapterhouse Singers and Players as well as pupils from the Mary Erskine and Stewart’s Melville school in a concert of seasonal music and carols, including Britten’s cantata St Nicolas. ■ Rudsambee Canongate Kirk, 153 Canongate, 7.30pm. £tbc. A concert of a cappella works by the vocal ensemble. ■ Harmony of Nations: Georgian England Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.45pm. £14 (£11; students £5). Four members of Harmony of Nations present a programme of trio sonatas from Georgian England, including music by Handel, Arne and Avison. ■ Loud & Proud Choir Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, 225 1900. 8pm. £9 (£7). The Edinburgh LGBT choir returns for its annual festive concert, with a guest appearance by Birmingham-based choir Rainbow Voices. Dundee ■ Christmas Choral Concert Church Of Scotland, Dundee Street, Carnoustie, 7.30pm. £tbc. A performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria with instrumentalists and guest soloist Diana Crockford.
Dunfermline ■ Dunfermline Choral Union and Junior Chorus The Vine Church, Garvock Hill, 01383 417059. 3pm & 7pm. £tbc. Seasonal choral music from Dunfermline performers. St Andrews ■ University String Orchestra Concert Younger Hall, North Street, 01334 462226. 4pm. £tbc. Festive concert from St Andrews University string orchestra.
Sunday 7 Glasgow ■ Coffee Concert Series RSAMD (Academy Concert Hall), 100 Renfrew Street, 11.30am. £8 (£5). Hailed as one of the first of a new generation of pianists, Russian pianist Yevgeny Sudbin concludes the Coffee Concert series moving from classical elegance to piano-shaking late Romanticism. FREE Bel Canto Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Argyle Street, 276 9599. 1pm. Festive tunes from the acclaimed vocal ensemble. FREE Kelvingrove Sunday Organ Recitals Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Argyle Street, 276 9599. 3–3.45pm. See Sun 30. ■ Scottish Opera: St Andrews in the Square Concert St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 559 5902. 3pm. £11.50 (£8.50). The Orchestra of Scottish Opera’s popular concerts continue with Haydn, Schubert, Schnittke and Beethoven.
■ Madrigirls Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, The Square, off University Avenue, 7.30pm. £tbc. The all-female chamber choir presents its popular annual service of music and readings for Advent. FREE The Merchant Sinfonia City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. Scotland’s newest orchestra makes its concert debut. Created and mentored by the BBC SSO, the Merchant Sinfonia is made up of amateur players of all ages and abilities. Ilan Volkov conducts Beethoven’s Romance in F and Strauss’ Horn Concerto, with soloists from the BBC SSO. The concert will finish with Sibelius’ patriotic Finlandia. ■ Lev & Friends Café Cossachok, Russian Cultural Centre, 38 Albion Street, 553 0733. 9pm. £6. Violinist Lev Atlas presents this Russian, Hungarian, Gypsy, jazz, classical and folk fusion.
Edinburgh ■ Harps of Gold Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 2.30pm. £10 (concessions available). Orchestra of 40 clarsachs, Na Clarsairean, join together with George Watson’s College Caritas Choir for their annual concert of seasonal classics and favourite carols. All proceeds will be shared with the Cyrenians, who work with the homeless and those suffering from poverty. ■ St Giles at Six: The Wild Myrtles St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. Retiring collection. The Edinburgh-based a cappella group sings a programme of typically unusual and exotic works from places as far afield as Bulgaria, Romania and Finland. ■ A Christmas Celebration - Kevock Choir Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £6–£12 (concessions available). The choir is joined by the Edinburgh Concert Band and narrator Alasdair Hutton for an evening of seasonal and other music. Dundee ■ Christmas Choral Concert West Church, Perth Road, 6pm. £tbc. See Sat 6. ■ NYCoS Dundee Area Choir Caird Hall, City Square, 847 6413. 6.30pm. £4 (£2). Dundee’s finest young singers perform a selection of seasonal songs.
Dunfermline ■ Opera Alba Carnegie Hall, East Port, 01383 602302. 7.30pm. £8 (students £1). The operatic quartet whose members have played in international concert halls including Covent Garden will perform a repertoire of opera’s greatest hits. Kirkcaldy ■ Kirkcaldy Choral Union Concert St Brycedale Church, St Brycedale Avenue, 01592 26887. 7.15pm. £8 (students £5). Kirkcaldy Choral Union performs Karl Jenkins’ A Celebration of Christmas and Poulenc’s Gloria.
Monday 8
Glasgow ■ Music on Mondays: Scottish Songmakers RSAMD (Guinness Room), 100 Renfrew Street, 1pm. £tbc. The Vocal Studies Department presents a programme of seasonal works. ■ East Dunbartonshire Council Christmas Gala Concert Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £7. A festive blend of seasonal and orchestral favourites performed by local school children and conducted by George Kelly. ■ RSAMD Chamber Orchestra and Choir St Aloysius’ Church, 25 Rose Street, Garnethill, 332 3039. 7.30pm. £tbc. Annual Christmas concert featuring seasonal music from the past 400 years. Edinburgh ■ Under One Sky Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 8pm. £15. Fiddler John McCusker leads Under One
Sky, a collaborative project bringing together musicians from diverse backgrounds and genres. Tuesday 9
Glasgow ■ Fantasia Contrappuntistica Ramshorn Theatre, 98 Ingram Street, 552 3489. 1.15–2pm. £4. A graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School, Taiwanese pianist Ching-Yun Hu performs works by Granados and Ravel, as well as Kenneth Leighton’s homage to Bach, Fantasia Contrappuntistica.
Edinburgh ■ Scottish Chamber Orchestra: CL@Six St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road, 229 1142. 6pm. £12 (£5–£9). Michael Collins conducts the SCO Wind Ensemble in a programme entitled The Happy Workshop, featuring Richard Strauss’ Serenade in E flat and Sonatina No 2, inspired by the chamber music of Mozart. ■ Mr McFall's Chamber t Andrew's and St George's Church, 13 George Street, 668 2019. 8.30pm. £10 (£8). The far-out music group, formed around a core string quartet from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, push back more musical boundaries playing contemporary classic works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gavin Bryars. Joined by special guests Nicholas Mulroy and Susan Hamilton from the esteemed Dunedin Consort. Stirling ■ NYCoS Stirling Choirs Albert Halls, Dumbarton Road, 01786 473 544. 7pm. £tbc. An evening of music from young singers.
Wednesday 10
Glasgow FREE Organ Recital: John Butt Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, The Square, off University Avenue, 7.30pm. As the year of Olivier Messiaen’s centenary draws to a close, John Butt gives a performance of two of the composer’s early organ works: the hair-raising grandeur of Apparition de l’Église Éternelle is followed by the nine colourful ‘meditations’ of La Nativité du Seigneur. ■ Peter Donohoe in Recital City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £12–£20 (£10–£18). Following a year of centenary celebrations for Olivier Messiaen, on his exact anniversary internationally acclaimed pianist Peter Donohoe, a former pupil of the composer himself, performs Cantéyodjaya and excerpts from Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus, with two Beethoven Piano Sonatas, including his unparalleled last in C minor. Edinburgh ■ Get Organised: Christmas Special St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road, 229 1142. 1.10pm. £3. The Edinburgh University Singers join City Organist John Kitchen for a concert of seasonal choral and organ music.
Classical Music
of Spring caused a riot at its 1913 premiere and packs no less a punch today. Hear it alongside the original version of Hitlist THE BEST CLASSICAL & OPERA*
✽✽ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Russian Winter The BBC SSO’s series of concerts focusing on the music of Rachmaninov and Stravinsky with some of the finest international pianists around playing all four of the former’s piano concerts, as well as the Paganini Rhapsody. Each pianist can also be heard in recital at the RSAMD. City Halls, Glasgow, Thu 27 Nov, Tue 2 & Thu 4 Dec. ✽✽ Bach Christmas Oratorio Forget the shiny tinsel or sleighbells ringing and get in more reflective mood for Christmas on Advent Sunday with the vocal brilliance of the Dunedin Consort leading the way for Glasgow based students in JS Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Bute Hall, Glasgow University, Sun 30 Nov. ✽✽ Scottish Opera: La Traviata Scottish Opera’s new production of Verdi’s passionate tale of love and tragedy. Well received by critics and public alike, this La Traviata is one not to be missed, especially with Italian soprano Carmen Giannattisio in the lead role of Violetta. Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 27 & Sat 29 Nov. Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 4, with outstanding pianist Yevgeny Sudbin. Pre-Concert Prelude and Post- Concert Coda. ■ Opera Scenes Alexander Gibson Opera Studio, RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.15pm. £12 (£8). Postgraduate students perform scenes from a selection of operas. Always popular, so please book early.
Kirkcaldy ■ Kirkcaldy Music Society December Concert St Peter’s Church, Townsend Place, 01592 890375. 7.30pm. £10 (£3). The Society presents Vocal Fusion, an a capella vocal quartet formed by RSAMD students. Edinburgh ■ The Band of her Majesty’s Royal Marines Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, 623 3030. 7.30pm. £15 (£12). A musical extravaganza covering everything from Elvis to opera. Postponed from Sun 14 Sep.
Thursday 11 Glasgow ■ Westbourne Music The Merchant House, 7 West George Street, 226 4444. 12.45pm. £7 (£3–£6). Extrovert percussion virtuosi Oliver Cox and Owen Gunnell in a Christmas extravaganza. ■ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Russian Winter 4 City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7pm. £10–£23 (£8–£21). Stravinsky’s The Rite
Dundee ■ Tayside and Fife Health Services Christmas Carol Concert Caird Hall, City Square, 01382 434940. 7.30pm. £10. Tayside and Fife Health Services Choir Musical Director Norman Beedie directs organist Stuart Muir, The Mike Bennett Brass Ensemble, St Paul’s Academy Madrigal Group and the High School of Dundee String Ensemble, in a Christmas carol spectacular. 27 Nov–11 Dec 2008 THE LIST 79