Music CLASSICAL
Edinburgh David Briggs St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10 (£5). Master organist David Briggs performs his new transcription of Mahler’s Symphony No 3, with Judy Brown (alto). Part of Edinburgh Organ Weekend. RSNO Great Concertos: Grieg Piano Concerto Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £10–£32 (under 16s free). See Thu 14.
Saturday 16
Glasgow Edinburgh Youth Orchestra Spring Concert RSAMD (Academy Concert Hall), 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £15. A programme featuring Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, then Bartok’s rd Piano Concerto with the extraordinary Joanna MacGregor as guest soloist. Sian Edwards conducts. RSNO Great Concertos: Grieg Piano Concerto Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £10–£32. See Thu 14. Edinburgh Farnham Youth Choir Canongate Kirk, 153 Canongate, 556 3515. 7.30pm. £15 (£10; students £5). Charity concert in aid of the Sandpiper Trust. Henry Fairs St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10 (£5). Henry Fairs (organ) performs music by the Romantics. Part of Edinburgh Organ Weekend 2011. Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Musical Toybox The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £9–£27. See Fri 15.
Perth Camerata Scotland: That Blessed Wood Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, 01738 621031. 7.30pm. £10 (£6 £2 children/students). NYOS’s pre- professional chamber orchestra performs Rory Boyle’s new bassoon concerto.
Sunday 17
Glasgow FREE Kelvingrove Sunday Organ Recitals Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Argyle Street, 276 9599. 3–3.45pm. See Sun 3. Portrait of the Composer: The Brahms Codes City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 3pm. £12. The Hebrides Ensemble and Llyr Williams bring on the Brahms. The Orchestra of Scottish Opera St Andrews in the Square, 1 St Andrew’s Square, 559 5902. 3pm. £11.50 (£8.50). Conductor Sergio Alapont makes his UK debut with a programme featuring Poulenc, Martucci and Beethoven’s feisty Symphony No 5. Edinburgh FREE St Giles’ at Six: Music for Passiontide St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. John Sanders’ Requiem, Lotti’s Crucifixus and Bairstow’s Lamentations performed by the St Giles’ Cathedral Choir. Artisan Trio The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10 (£5). The young Edinburgh-based piano trio plays Kenneth Leighton’s Clarinet Trio, the world première of Nigel Osborne’s Piano Quintet ‘Ulysses’ and Brahms’ Piano Trio No 1 (revised version). Camerata Scotland: That Blessed Wood Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, 225 1900. 7.30pm. £10 (£6; students/children £2). See Sat 16. Edinburgh Youth Orchestra Spring Concert Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £12–£15 (unwaged/disabled £10–£13; students £5; children £2). See Sat 16.
Monday 18
Glasgow Camerata Scotland: That Blessed Wood City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 108 THE LIST 31 Mar–28 Apr 2011
7.30pm. £10 (£6; students/children £2). See Sat 16. Perth Hebrides Ensemble Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, 01738 621031. 1pm. £7.50 (£5.50; advance £6.50). Brahms’ String Sextet No 1 in B Flat sits nicely with Mark Anthony Turnage’s Returning.
St Andrews FREE Scottish Chamber Orchestra Trio Younger Hall, North Street, 01334 475000. 1.15pm. A lunchtime programme including Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio.
Tuesday 19 Edinburgh Get Organised! Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 1.10pm. £3. John Kitchen (organ) presents a homage to JS Bach, with music by Krebs, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Jackson, Templeton, Sanger and (aptly enough) JS Bach. FREE Music at Extreme Conditions National e-Science Centre,
Edinburgh ✽✽ The Okavango Macbeth The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street,
668 2019. 7.30pm. £16 (students and children £8). Alexander McCall Smith and Tom Cunningham’s all-baboon chamber opera version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, featuring soloists from the RSAMD, Mr McFall’s Chamber and the Edinburgh Studio Opera. See preview, below.
Thursday 21 Glasgow Aaron Shorr Westbourne Music, 7 West George Street. 12.45pm. £7 (£6; students/children £3). The head of the Keyboard Department at RSAMD performs, including works by Liszt.
SHAKESPEARE AND BABOONS THE OKAVANGO MACBETH Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Wed 20 & Thu 21 April
Alexander McCall Smith’s inspiration to write an opera based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth isn’t the first. Verdi was certainly there before him, but what makes McCall Smith’s The Okavango Macbeth decidedly different is that the characters are all baboons. It may sound wacky, but, says McCall Smith, who has a longstanding interest in primate studies, ‘it suddenly occurred to me that the ambitious female baboon, who wants her male to advance, has Lady Macbeth issues. So why don’t we tell the story of Macbeth, with the themes that Shakespeare addresses, such as violence and ambition, set in a troop of baboons?’
The ‘we’ McCall Smith refers to is himself as librettist with regular
composer partner Tom Cunningham. ‘My words and Tom’s music seem to work well together and he’s produced a wonderfully melodic score. There are some catchy tunes, but at the same time it’s very moving.’ Originally for piano, the music has been rescored for small ensemble by Robert McFall of Mr McFall’s Chamber, who give the Edinburgh performances along with Edinburgh Studio Opera and post-grad students from the RSAMD. ‘There’s one scene, one of the loveliest,’ says McCall Smith, ‘where the Lady Macbeth baboon is urging Macbeth on to murder Duncan. It’s such haunting and beautiful music.’ First performed in the No 1 Ladies’ Opera House in Botswana, which was set up by McCall Smith to give a platform to local singers, the opera was an instant hit. Full houses packed out the tiny venue for ten nights. Director then was Nicholas Ellenbogen, from Cape Town, who now comes to Edinburgh. ‘He is a theatrical genius,’ says McCall Smith, ‘and he’s come up with an absolutely fabulous production using masks and movement. It’s breathtakingly vivid staging. I shouldn’t be saying this myself, but it’s just wonderful!’ (Carol Main)
e-Science Institute, 15 South College Street, www.nesc.ac.uk 7pm. Musicians from the Edinburgh Quartet perform a new trio by Scottish composer Julian Wagstaff, plus work by Beethoven.
Edinburgh ✽✽ The Okavango Macbeth The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street,
668 2019. 7.30pm. £16 (students and children £8). See Wed 20.
Wednesday 20 Friday 22
Edinburgh FREE Chris Watson Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, chriswatson. eventbrite.com. 8pm. The multi- dimensional sound artist performs. Part of Dialogues Festival. See preview, page 80.
Saturday 23
Glasgow National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland: Illumination The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £10 (£6). Including a new arrangement for bagpipes of Pachelbel’s Canon and a special light show. Edinburgh FREE David Goodenough St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road, 229 1142. 1.30pm. Organ recital.
Sunday 24
Edinburgh FREE St Giles’ at Six: Emma Aitken/Joseph Doody/Ingrid Sawers St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. Songs and Arias by Handel, Mozart, Schubert. Schumann, Strauss and Debussy.
Tuesday 26
Glasgow Junior Students from the RSAMD Ramshorn Theatre, 98 Ingram Street, 552 3489. 1.15–2pm. £4. A programme of solo and chamber music. Edinburgh Get Organised! Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 1.10pm. John Kitchen (organ) plays wedding favourites by Wagner, Mendelssohn, Widor, Saint- Saëns and Bliss.
Wednesday 27
Glasgow British Musical Mystics Barony Hall, Rottenrow East, 353 8000. 8pm. £9 (£7; students £5). Strathclyde University Symphony Orchestra perform music by Holst, Elgar, Walton and Vaughan Williams with help from the University Chorus and Chamber Choir and baritone soloist Philip Gault.
Edinburgh ✽✽ ecat presents: Myth and Ritual The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk
Street, 668 2019. 7.45pm. £10 (£7; schoolchildren free). Works by Claude Vivier and John McLeod, including McLeod’s Thrashing the Sea God.
St Andrews Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Symphonic Opera Younger Hall, North Street, 01334 462226. 7.30pm. £10.50–£19.50. Haydn’s *Symphony No 82 ‘The Bear’ and Mozart’s Haffner Symphony complement favourite arias by Mozart and Rossini.
Thursday 28
Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Afternoon Performance City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 2pm. £7–£8. Germany’s Atos Trio joins the BBC SSO in an Austro-German programme conducted by Andrew Manze. Edinburgh Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Symphonic Opera The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £9–£27. See Wed 27.