MUSIC | Classical MUSIC | Classical C L A S S I C A L
CONCERTS THE NIGHT WITH . . . Emma Lloyd and Joanna Nicholson, The Rowantree, Edinburgh, Mon 11 April; The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, Tue 12 April. The Aurea Quartet, The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, Wed 3 May
Who to spend the night with? Audiences are spoiled for choice with this second series of Glasgow and Edinburgh events that open up a new style of concert-going. Salon-style concerts that present classical and contemporary music in informal settings, The Night With . . . is the brainchild of composer Matthew Whiteside. ‘I like going to concerts,’ he says, ‘but often the concert hall
invites a certain way of listening. I also enjoy going to rock concerts and I wanted to bring that aesthetic closer, and to make a more relaxed atmosphere. That’s why I’ve programmed three thirds rather than two halves. There will be time between each section to get to the bar and refresh your drink.’
Seating, too, will not be like conventional classical music
concerts. Whether The Hug and Pint in Glasgow or The Rowantree in Edinburgh, it will be mainly cabaret style with a few rows standing at the back.
‘While people can really listen and be sitting quietly, The Night With . . . is about making a classical concert as close to a rock concert as possible,’ says Whiteside, ‘and it’s important to get it set up the right way.’
The Night With . . . Emma Lloyd (pictured) and Joanna Nicholson, which is in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, features music for violin and clarinet, as well as electronics. One piece is Timothy Cooper’s ‘Shimmering’, which Whiteside describes as being ‘very, very beautiful’. There is also new work for the duo by Whiteside himself and by Nina Whiteman. In all, eight composers with whom to spend the night.
‘The whole programme is fairly meditative,’ says Whiteside, ‘and even though there are a lot of notes, there is still a real sense of stillness to the music.’ (Carol Main)
CLASSICAL HIGHLIGHTS
HITLIST GLASGOW
SCOTTISH OPERA: BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE & THE 8TH DOOR Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sat 1 Apr, atgtickets.com/venues/ theatre-royal-glasgow Bartok’s disturbing Bluebeard’s Castle is paired up with a new opera, The 8th Door, co-created by composer Lliam Paterson and theatre director Matthew Lenton. Also Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 5, Sat 8 Apr, edtheatres.com
RSNO: BEETHOVEN ONE Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 21 Apr, usherhall. co.uk Thomas Søndergård conducts guest soloist, baritone Roderick Williams, in Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Beethoven’s Symphony No 1 is an appropriate musical complement. Also Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 22 Apr, glasgowconcerthalls. com
98 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2017
DUNEDIN CONSORT: ST MATTHEW PASSION Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Wed 12 Apr, glasgowconcerthalls. com/glasgow-royal-concert-hall Holy Week performance of Bach’s setting of the passion story from the gospel of Matthew, composed for Good Friday at his Leipzig church, Thomaskirche, in 1729. Also Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 14 Apr, thequeenshall.net
BBC SSO: BOSTRIDGE SINGS BRITTEN City Halls, Thu 27 Apr, glasgowconcerthalls.com/cityhalls A favourite of the Edinburgh Festival, tenor Ian Bostridge was a late starter as a singer, his first love being history and, in particular, witchcraft, which is a bit of an unusual claim to fame. His voice, however, is just right for Britten’s Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, which he performs with French horn player Chris Parkes.
TECTONICS GLASGOW: BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA City Halls, Sat 6 May,
glasgowconcerthalls.com/ cityhalls Opening orchestral concert of this year’s Tectonics festival of new music, founded and curated by Ilan Volkov, who conducts the BBC SSO in a humdinger of a programme of contemporary music, much of it enjoying premiere performances.
SCOTTISH OPERA: LA BOHÈME Theatre Royal, Tue 9, Fri 12, Sat 14, Tue 16, Thu 18, Sat 20 May, atgtickets.com/venues/theatre- royal-glasgow New production of the Puccini favourite returns, from the team behind the company’s highly successful Don Pasquale, director Renaud Doucet and designer André Barbe. Bringing out the colour of Puccini’s sublime score, their setting is inspired by the jazz age of Paris in the 1920s. Also touring, see list. co.uk/ theatre for details
EDINBURGH
SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: SCHUBERT SYMPHONY NO 4 Queen’s Hall, Thu 4 May, queenshall.net World premiere of SCO commission from New Zealand- born but long-time Edinburgh-resident composer Lyell Cresswell’s Concerto
for Clarinet and Orchestra. Entitled ‘Llanto’ which is Spanish for crying, it sits alongside Schubert’s fourth symphony, subtitled ‘Tragic’. Take the tissues. Also City Halls, Glasgow, Fri 5 May, glasgowconcerthalls. com/cityhalls
SUNDAY CLASSICS: MOSCOW PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Usher Hall, Sun 28 May, usherhall. co.uk There’s nothing quite like the sound of a top drawer Russian orchestra in Russian repertoire, especially with a conductor like Yuri Simonov. Prepare for Shostakovich’s Festival Overture hitting the roof and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 being a tour de force with soloist Freddy Kempf.
OUT OF TOWN
NICOLA BENEDETTI Perth Concert Hall, Mon 15 May, horsecross.co.uk/perth-concert- hall Usually appearing in Glasgow or Edinburgh as a concerto soloist, catch the chance to hear the wonder that is Nicola Benedetti in different mode as she performs chamber music repertoire for violin and piano with duo partner Alexei Grynyuk to open this year’s Perth Festival of the Arts.