MUSIC | Classical Sunday 9
Glasgow Scott’s Opera City Halls, Candleriggs, 332 5057. 3pm. £14.50 (£12). See Fri 7. Edinburgh FREE St Giles’ at Six St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. Organ recital by Jeremy Filsell from Washington DC’s National Cathedral.
Monday 10
Glasgow Brass – Heroes and Villains Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £9.50 (£7.50). A showcase for the brass department. Governors’ Recital Prize for Percussion Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7pm. £4 (£3). Student competition.
✽ FREE Hebrides Ensemble with Marcus Farnsworth
Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, University Avenue, 330 4092. 7.30pm. Baritone Marcus Farnsworth joins the Ensemble for George Butterworth’s Six Songs from ‘A Shropshire Lad’ as well as extracts from Ned Rorem’s War Scenes, the world premiere of Stuart MacRae’s Parable, Stravinsky’s Three pieces for solo clarinet, Debussy’s Berceuse Heroique and Webern’s arrangement of Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No 1 Op 9.
Edinburgh Angela Hewitt The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.45pm. £12–£21 (£11–£19). Piano virtuoso plays Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, Beethoven Piano Sonata No 31 in A flat major Op 110 and Bach The Art of Fugue Part II.
Tuesday 11
Glasgow Chris Watson Glasgow University Concert Hall, University Avenue, 330 4092. 7.30pm. £7 (£4). Works from the multi-dimensional sound artist and recordist. Edinburgh FREE Reid Memorial Concert Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 1.10–1.55pm. Ruth Slater and Ellen O’Dell (violin) and John Kitchen (harpsichord) play works by Corelli, Fontana, Reid, Handel and Stamitz. Hebrides Ensemble with Marcus Farnsworth The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £14 (£10; students £5). See Mon 10.
Wednesday 12
Glasgow Classical Concert Chamber Orchestra: Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart – Violin Masterpieces Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12–£25. California-based ensemble plays concertos for the violin, including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Marylebone Wind Quintet Pollok House, Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 0844 493 2202. 7.30–9.30pm. £12 (students £5). Award-winning wind ensemble plays works by Arnold, Carter, Damase, Danzi and Patterson. Edinburgh Edinburgh Quartet Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, 0845 874 3001. 9–10pm. £8 (members £7). Works by James MacMillan: Memento and Why is this Night different?
88 THE LIST 23 Jan–20 Feb 2014
Sunday 16
Glasgow Junior Conservatoire: Composers Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £4 (£3). Works by young composers.
Edinburgh RSNO Chamber Series: Italian Journey Dovecot Studios, 10 Infirmary Street, 550 3660. 2.30pm. £12 (under 26s £5; under 16s free). The chamber players of the RSNO play works by Richard Strauss, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Haddington Doric String Quartet Town House, Haddington, 01620 826725. 7.30pm. £9/£11 (children and students free). Works by Haydn, Korngold and Beethoven (Op 127).
Monday 17
Glasgow Les chemins de l’amour Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £9.50 (£7.50). Chansons by French masters including Poulenc, for St Valentine’s Day.
Tuesday 18
Glasgow Dynamic Daniil Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £11 (£8.50). Tenor Daniil Shtoda in recital from the classics of Russian opera. FREE Choral Contemplations Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, University Avenue, 330 4092. 6pm. Motets by the Bach family. Edinburgh FREE University of Edinburgh Lunchtime Concert Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 1.10–1.55pm. Nicholas Ashton (piano) and Lauryna Sableviciute (piano) play works for two pianos by Mozart, Chopin and Stravinsky. Scottish Opera: Don Pasquale Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 7.15pm. £10–£78. See Fri 24.
Wednesday 19 Glasgow Brodsky Quartet Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £11 (£8.50). The renowned quartet plays Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No 3. Governors’ Recital Prize for Brass Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 2.30pm. £4 (£3). Student competition. Richard & Adam: The Impossible Dream Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £17–£27. Welsh singing brothers.
Thursday 20
Glasgow Powerful Prizewinners Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £11 (£8.50). Recital by prizewinning young Russian musicians Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello) and Oxana Shevchenko (piano). Magical Mozart by Candlelight Eastwood Park Theatre, Eastwood Park, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock, 577 4970. 7.30pm. £17 (£15). Works by Mozart. Edinburgh FREE Alina Bzhezhinska Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. 6–6.30pm. Distinguished teacher, composer and harpist in solo recital. Scottish Opera: Don Pasquale Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13–29 Nicolson Street, 529 6000. 7.15pm. £10–£78. See Fri 24.
40TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 6 Feb; City Halls, Glasgow, Fri 7 Feb
How better for an orchestra to celebrate its 40th birthday than with a new piece of music? The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is doing exactly that with the specially commissioned Six Speechless Songs by Martin Suckling. The title comes from the final lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet no 8 – ‘Whose speechless song being many, seeming one, Sings this to thee: “Thou single wilt prove none”’ – which compares the state of marriage and family to strands of music combining together in harmony. ‘The lines appeal to me as a new father – my daughter was born
while I was writing this piece – and allow me to link her birthday with the SCO’s birthday,’ says Suckling. ‘As a violinist, I think of music most directly in terms of melody, and so a “speechless song” for orchestra chimes with my musical instincts.’ Scored for regular chamber orchestra forces, each ‘song’ treats the ensemble slightly differently. In the first, it’s a single, gigantic instrument while in the third, it becomes a collection of soloists. Suckling often uses microtonality in his music, but, he says, ‘One of the things that surprised me in writing this piece was that as the drafts progressed, the microtones disappeared. So, even though there are spectra and resonances written into the music, it’s all done with standard 12-note equal temperament.’ Most importantly, it’s about different types of melody and ways in which individual lines can contribute to a coherent whole. Composing for such a significant occasion was not easy, though. ‘Thinking too hard about it is a surefire way to freeze up,’ says Suckling. ‘On the other hand, it’s important to acknowledge that the piece is for a celebration. I wrote an awful lot of material that was subsequently thrown away because it didn’t measure up.’ (Carol Main)
Thursday 13 Glasgow Governors’ Recital Prize for Singing Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 10am. £4 (£3). Student competition. Jacquin Trio Westbourne Music, 7 West George Street, 221 1876. Noon. £8 (£7; students & children £4). A concert sponsored by the Tunnell Trust. Governors’ Recital Prize for Woodwind Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 2pm. £4 (£3). Student competition. BBC SSO: Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £11–£24. Antoine Tamestit is the soloist in Berlioz’s Harold in Italy, plus there’s Stravinsky’s Chant de Rossignol and Schubert’s great Symphony No 8 ‘Unfinished’. Matthias Pintscher conducts. MusicLab and Red Note: One in the Chamber Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £4 (£3). New music. Edinburgh Quartet Sloans, 62 Argyll Arcade, 221 8886. 9–10pm. See Wed 12.
Friday 14 Glasgow Governors’ Recital Prize for Strings Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7pm. £4 (£3). Student competition. Jacquin Trio Milngavie Music Club, Cairns Church, 11 Buchanan Street,
Milngavie, jacquintrio.com/index.html 7.30pm. £12 (students £5; schoolchildren free). Trio performs pieces by Mozart, Schumann, Bruch, Huw Watkins, Libby Larsen and Julius Röntgen. Edinburgh FREE Quatuor Diotima Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 1.10–1.55pm. Acclaimed young Parisian string quartet plays Beethoven’s Op 130 and Op 133, the ‘Grosse Fuge’. RSNO: Romantic Valentine’s Classics Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £11.50–£36 (students & under 26s £5; under 16s free.) Kwame Ryan conducts romantic grand opera arias from Verdi and Puccini, featuring Jesus Leon (tenor) and Kishani Jayasinghe (soprano) and the RSNO Chorus.
Saturday 15
Glasgow RSNO: Romantic Valentine’s Classics Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £11.50–£35 (students & under 26s £5; under 16s free). See Fri 14. Edinburgh Ensemble Labyrinthe St Cecilia’s Hall, Niddry Street, 668 2019. 7.45pm. £18 (seniors £16; students and unwaged £5). Music from the late Renaissance/ early baroque era, including pieces by Monteverdi, Ortiz, Kapsberger and others.