MUSIC | Classical
Sunday 13 Tuesday 22
Glasgow Sir Walter Scott and Opera Òran Mór, 731–735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. 3pm. £15 (£10). Recital celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of the Waverley novels. Curated by Derek Clark and featuring work by Donizetti, Rossini, Bizet, Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, and Scottish composer Hamish MacCunn. Tuesday 15
Edinburgh FREE Cameron Grant Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45pm. Classical guitar. Wednesday 16
Edinburgh NYOS Senior Orchestra Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, nyos.co.uk 7pm. £12 (£8; under 16s £5). The NYOS Senior Orchestra is designed for older students who want to join the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, and is open to students aged 11–18. James Lowe conducts Peter Longworth’s ‘Ludi’, Partita for Orchestra, Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow, Franck’s Symphonic Variations and Glazunov’s Symphony No 5.
Friday 18
Berwick upon Tweed Katharine Gowers, Adrian Brendel and Alasdair Beatson Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 7.30pm. £22 (£11). Beatson (piano), Gowers (violin) and Brendel (cello) play chamber music classics. Fauré’s Cello Sonata No 1 in D minor, Elgar’s Violin Sonata in E minor and Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor. Part of Music at Paxton. Saturday 19
Berwick upon Tweed Katharine Gowers, Adrian Brendel and Alasdair Beatson Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 5–6pm. £15 (£7.50). Beatson (piano), Gowers (violin) and Brendel (cello) play chamber music classics. Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello and Schumann’s Carnaval. Music at Paxton. Katharine Gowers, Adrian Brendel and Alasdair Beatson Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 7.30pm. £22 (£11). Beatson (piano), Gowers (violin) and Brendel (cello) play chamber music classics. Janácek’s Violin Sonata, Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata in G minor and Dvorák’s Trio in E minor ‘Dumky’. Music at Paxton.
Sunday 20
Berwick upon Tweed O Duo Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 3.30–4.30pm. £7.50 (free). The O boys – Olly Cox and Owen Gunnell – play an invigorating and enchanting selection of contemporary and older styles of music on a range of percussion instruments, including two marimbas and a vibraphone. An open- air concert including a piece created over the preceding three days. Music at Paxton. Chiaroscuro Quartet Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 6pm. £24 (£12). Multi-national quartet founded in 2005, consisting of Alina Ibragimova (violin), Pablo Hernán Benedí (violin), Emilie Hörnlund (viola) and Claire Thirion (cello). Mozart’s Divertimento in F, K138 and Quartet in D minor K421, framing Haydn’s early, game-changing Quartet in G minor, Op 20 No 3. Music at Paxton. 104 THE LIST 10 Jul–21 Aug 2014
Berwick upon Tweed Young Musicians’ Double Bill Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 7.30pm. £12 (£6). Music at Paxton’s annual showcase for two groups of talented young professionals from Live Music Now. The Astrid Quartet plays Alasdair Nicolson’s new The Keeper of Sheep and Tchaikovsky’s Quartet in D major, followed by Fraser Langton (clarinet) and Juliette Philogene (piano) playing Henri Rabaud’s Solo de concours, Debussy’s Première rhapsodie and Brahms’s Clarinet Sonata in E flat. Music at Paxton. Edinburgh FREE Cameron Grant Henderson’s Vegetarian Restaurant, 94 Hanover Street, 225 2131. 6.45pm. See Tue 15.
Wednesday 23 Berwick upon Tweed O Duo Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 7.30pm. £16 (£8). The O boys – Olly Cox and Owen Gunnell – play an invigorating and enchanting selection of contemporary and older styles of music on a range of percussion instruments, including two marimbas and a vibraphone. A selection of music written or arranged for percussion: Bongo Fury, Albeniz’s Suite espanola (excerpts), Bach’s Two Preludes, Chopin’s Etude in G flat, Desmond’s Take 5, Siegel’s 2nd St Rondo, Prokofiev’s Prelude (The Harp), Shostakovich’s Prelude No 5, Glass’s Mad Rush and Cox’s Signals from Space. Music at Paxton.
Thursday 24
Glasgow ✽FREE Scokendia Ensemble The Glad Café, 1006a Pollokshaws Road, 636 6119. 6pm. Bringing together young musicians from Scotland, Kenya and India to connect, collaborate and perform during Culture 2014. With Travelling Birds, a Hear My Music project, where young people with complex needs develop and perform a new piece of music. This performance is geared towards young people with special needs and their families, although all are welcome.
Berwick upon Tweed Edinburgh Quartet Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 7.30pm. £22 (£11). Scotland’s premier string quartet was founded in 1960 and maintains close relationships with composers all over the UK, as well as playing dozens of concerts a year in venues all over the world. Haydn’s Quartet in E flat, Op 33 No 2 ‘The Joke’; Shostakovich’s Quartet No 8 in C minor and Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B minor, featuring Maximiliano Martín. Music at Paxton.
Friday 25
Glasgow Scottish Opera’s Anamchara – Songs of Friendship Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, 0844 871 7647. 6.30pm. £6. Based on themes of friendship, this opera explores the ties that bind people together and features over 100 performers from around the Commonwealth. Written by novelist Alexander McCall Smith and composer Pippa Murphy. See preview, page 106.
✽Scokendia Ensemble Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100
Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £5. See Thu 24.
Berwick upon Tweed ✽Alessandro Taverna Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton,
01289 386291. 7.30pm. £22 (£11). Young and highly rated Italian pianist in recital. Beethoven’s Variations and Fugue in E flat major, Op 35 ‘Eroica Variations’; Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli and Rachmaninov’s Preludes Op 23 No 7 in C minor, Op 32 No 8 in A minor, Op 23 No 4 in D major and Op 23 No 2 in B-flat major. Music at Paxton. Berwick upon Tweed Mahan Esfahani and Friends Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 5–6pm. £15 (£7.50). The Iranian-born harpsichordist plays music by Johann Sebastian Bach that was designed for domestic (as opposed to public) consumption. This concert features guest Bojan Cicic (baroque violin) in Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in B minor, Partita III for Harpsichord and Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in G major. Music at Paxton. Mahan Esfahani and Friends Paxton House and Country Park, Paxton, 01289 386291. 7.30pm. £24–£12. The Iranian-born harpsichordist plays music by Johann Sebastian Bach that was designed for domestic (as opposed to public) consumption. William Berger (baritone) and Susanne Heinrich (cello) join in for Bach’s Airs from the Anna Magdalena Notebook; Marchand’s Prelude – Allemande – Sarabande – Chaconne, Handel’s Dalla guerra amorosa, CPE Bach’s Two Polonaises, from the Anna Magdalena Notebook. Telemann’s Sonata for viola da gamba from Getreue Musik-Meister and Bach’s Amore traditore. Music at Paxton.
Saturday 26 Glasgow Classics Marathon Day Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. Times vary. Prices vary. Glasgow UNESCO City of Music organises a day of wall-to-wall music in Glasgow’s city centre, from Red Note’s From Reels to Ragas at lunchtime to the Scottish Ensemble with Nicola Benedetti playing Vivaldi and Piazzolla in the evening. Rock up to the Royal Concert Hall with a packed lunch and let it all roll over you. FREE Red Note Ensemble: From Reels to Ragas Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 1pm. Scotland’s leading contemporary music ensemble plays a packed Indo-Scottish programme, with music by JS Bach, Kuljit Bhamra, Arvo Pärt, and the great Anglo-Indian jazz composer John Mayer, as well as Scottish tunes. Part of Classics Marathon Day. The Dunedin Consort Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 2pm. £5. Acclaimed ensemble of singers and players specialising in baroque music under the musical direction of John Butt. John Butt directs Bach’s Magnificat. Classics Marathon Day. Scottish Opera’s Anamchara – Songs of Friendship Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, 0844 871 7647. 2.30pm & 6.30pm. £6. See Fri 25. FREE Musical Interludes Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. 3.30–6.30pm. Live music in the bar showcasing the virtuosity of students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Part of Culture 2014. Scottish Chamber Orchestra Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 4pm. £5. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is recognised as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world and tours extensively in Scotland as well as internationally. Joseph Swensen conducts Mozart’s over ture to The Marriage of Figaro, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending featuring Nicola Benedetti, and Beethoven’s Symphony No 6. Classics Marathon Day.
HITLIST THE BEST CLASSICAL & OPERA
✽ Scokendia Young musicians from Scotland,
Kenya and India connect, collaborate and perform in one of Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme’s most imaginative initiatives. The ensemble performs three world premieres – a composer from each country – in their main concert as well as taking part in a host of other activity over the period they are here. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, Fri 25 Jul.
✽ Alessandro Taverna Young Venetian pianist
in a virtuosic feast of Beethoven, Stravinsky and Rachmaninov alongside the impressive fireworks of Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli with its songs of the gondoliers and heady tarantella. Paxton House and Country Park, Berwick-upon- Tweed, Fri 25 Jul.
✽ Mendelssohn on Mull Actually bringing the
musicians involved off the island of Mull to nearby Oban on the mainland, the final concert of this year’s festival features all three groups of string players who have been taking part in this inspirational opportunity for young professional musicians working with mentors and established artists. St John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Oban, Sat 12 Jul.
Hebrides Ensemble Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5.15pm. £5. Founded in 1991, the Hebrides Ensemble is one of Scotland’s most dynamic chamber groups, with a team of world-class players and a strong commitment to new music. Two young string players from National Youth Orchestras of Scotland join the ensemble for Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor, Op 57 and Linda Buckley’s Fiol. Classics Marathon Day. RSNO and BBC SSO featuring Nicola Benedetti Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 6.30pm. £5. In a rare chance to see two major orchestras sharing a stage, Martyn Brabbins conducts Maxwell Geddes’ Fanfare – Let Glasgow Flourish; ‘Jupiter’ from Holst’s The Planets; Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy (excerpt); Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man; MacCunn’s Land of the Mountain and the Flood; Burns arr Campbell’s My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose and Maxwell Davies’ An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise. Violinist Nicola Benedetti is the special guest. Classics Marathon Day.