MUSIC | Classical
Edinburgh Get Organised: John Kitchen Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 1.10pm. £3. Works for the organ by JS Bach. Scottish Ensemble: Love and War in Bohemia The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £15 (students £5; under 16s free). See Sun 23.
Tuesday 25
Glasgow FREE Choral Contemplations Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, University Avenue, 330 4092. 6pm. Stevenson’s Four Peace Motets. Edinburgh FREE Richard Craig Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 1.10pm. Contemporary works for flute and piccolo. Edinburgh Studio Opera: Die Fledermaus St Andrew’s and St George’s Church, 13 George Street, 225 3847. 7pm. £12 (£8; students £6). Strauss’ bat takes flight.
Wednesday 26
Edinburgh FREE Tovey Memorial Prize Competition Final Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 2pm. Student prize. Edinburgh Studio Opera: Die Fledermaus St Andrew’s and St George’s Church, 13 George Street, 225 3847. 7pm. £12 (£8; students £6). See Tue 25.
Thursday 27
Glasgow RCS Governor’s Recital Prize for Chamber Music: Winners’ Recital Westbourne Music, 7 West George Street, 221 1876. noon. £8 (£7; students & children £4). Student recital. FREE Katherine Bryan and Scott Mitchell Glasgow University Concert Hall, University Avenue, 330 4092. 1.10–2pm. Music for flute and piano by Debussy and Brahms. BBC SSO: Osborne Plays Beethoven – Piano Concerto No 2 City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £11–£24. Andrew Manze conducts Copland, Schumann and also Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 2 featuring Steven Osborne. Edinburgh FREE Lunchtime Concert St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 12.15pm. Mark Spalding (piano).
Friday 28 Glasgow French Fancy IV Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £11 (£8.50). Chamber music
86 THE LIST 20 Feb–20 Mar 2014
Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £9.50 (£7.50). Experimental piano works. FREE Aberdeen Music School Concert Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7pm. Students from Aberdeen City Music School. Edinburgh FREE St Giles’ at Six St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. Organ recital by Ben Sheen (NYC).
Monday 3
Edinburgh Get Organised: John Kitchen Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 1.10pm. £3. Works for organ by Bach, Handel and Arthur Sullivan. FREE Red Note: Noisy Nights Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. 8pm. Informal evening of new music.
Tuesday 4
Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh Quartet Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 1.10pm. Haydn’s Quartet in F Major Op 74 No 2 and Janacek’s ’Kreutzer’ Sonata.
Wednesday 5 Edinburgh Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, 650 2427. 7.30pm. £8 (£5; under 16s free). Amateur orchestra in concert.
Thursday 6
Glasgow FREE Mieko Kanno Glasgow University Concert Hall, University Avenue, 330 4092. 1.10–2pm. The RCS’ new Head of Strings plays works for violin by Ferneyhough, Bach and Scelsi. BBC SSO: Born in the USA – Barber & Copland City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £11–£24. Sarah Chang is featured in Barber’s Violin Concerto; also, works by Tsontakis and Copland. David Allan Miller conducts. The Brass Ring Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £11 (£8.50). Highlights from Wagner. Chamber of Baroque Delights Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.45pm. £9.50 (£7.50). Chamber music by Lully and Rameau. Tony and Tania Webster Prize for Piano Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 9.30pm. £4 (£3). Russian rarities for the piano. Edinburgh Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10–£30 (£5–£28; under 16s free). Richard Egarr conducts Schubert, Haydn and Mozart. Usher Hall Centenary Concert Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £12–£32. Thomas Søndergård and Michael Bawtree conduct music by Wagner, Rachmaninov, Mendelssohn, MacCunn, Bach, Parry and Beethoven.
Friday 7 Glasgow Absolute Andrei Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £11 (£8.50). Andrei Gavrilov plays Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No 8. Junior Conservatoire: Gilbert Innes Prize for Piano Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 6pm. £4 (£3). Student competition. Edinburgh Quartet Kilmardinny Arts Centre, 50 Kilmardinny Avenue, Bearsden, 931 5083. 7.30pm. £10
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS USHER HALL 100TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 6 Mar
Whether or not the queen’s custom of sending congratulatory messages to those reaching their 100th birthdays extends to concert halls as well as people remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely that Edinburgh’s Usher Hall will be short of birthday greetings in celebrating its centenary. Opened in March 1914, with the bulk of the funds required coming from whisky distiller Andrew Usher, the purpose of the hall then remains at the core of its activity today. Owned and operated by the City of Edinburgh Council, the Usher Hall is, says general manager Karl Chapman, ‘doing exactly what it says on the tin. What Andrew Usher wanted was for the citizens of Edinburgh to be able to hear great music in a great space. We went back to historical documents for our business plan and that is still what we are here to do.’
Some factors have changed over the years, including the hall
introducing the sale of alcohol just over 30 years ago, which was part of the move to improve the customer experience. Visiting the hall today, with its ease of access, slick box office, spacious cafe bar and hospitality suite housed in a striking glass extension, is a quite different matter from even 20 years ago, when plaster fell from the venue’s ceiling after a Tony Bennett concert. For the centenary celebrations, the 100th birthday concert features
the hall’s fine Norman and Beard organ in a choral and orchestral concert and is flanked by dates with Rufus Wainwright, Gilded Comedy Gala, Mogwai and the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra. ‘What we are trying to do,’ says Chapman, ‘is to create a venue with a diverse programme that people will come back to again and again. We believe that life’s too short for boring music.’ (Carol Main) ■ To win tickets to see Rufus Wainwright, Gilded Comedy Gala, Mogwai and the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, see page 75.
by Fauré. Symphony Orchestra: Conducting the Commonwealth Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £14.50 (£12). British music conducted by Jean-Claude Picard. Edinburgh FREE Benjamin Sheen Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh, Bristo Square, 651 3212. 1.10pm. Organ works by Bach and Froberger. Edinburgh Studio Opera: Die Fledermaus St Andrew’s and St George’s Church, 13 George Street, 225 3847. 7pm. £12 (£8; students £6). See Tue 25. RSNO: Symphonie fantastique Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £11.50–£36 (students & under 26s £5; under 16s free). Berlioz’s mind-bending symphony, plus works by Sibelius and MacMillan featuring John Cushing (clarinet). Hannu Lintu conducts.
Saturday 1 Glasgow The Kelvin Ensemble St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, 300 Great Western Road, 339 6691. 7.30pm. £10 (£5).
Christopher Swaffer conducts Suppé, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky, with guest pianist Sarah Ayoub. RSNO: Symphonie fantastique Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £11.50–£35 (students & under 26s £5; under 16s free). See Fri 28. Edinburgh Andrew Caskie St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road, 229 1142. 12.30pm. £tbc. Organ works by Mathias, Vaughan Williams, Wiedermann, Weckmann, Addinsell, Elgar and Willan. Edinburgh Studio Opera: Die Fledermaus St Andrew’s and St George’s Church, 13 George Street, 225 3847. 7pm. £12 (£8; students £6). See Tue 25. Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, edinburghsymphonyorchestra.org.uk 7.30pm. £10 (£7; children £3). Gerard Doherty conducts works by Debussy, Berlioz and Stravinsky, with soprano Emily Mitchell.
Sunday 2 Glasgow Piano Festival Preview Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew