Music and Classical

Hansel and Gretel

RSNO and Scottish Opera in new translation of opera

27 Jan 2012

Irish soprano Ailish Tynan is proving a hit with Scottish audiences. After joining the RSNO for a highly successful Viennese New Year, she’s now back to Glasgow and Edinburgh to work with Scottish Opera, taking the role of Gretel in their brand new…

Simon Thacker and the Nava Rasa Ensemble – Nada-Ananda

Fruitful reinterpretation by the British classical guitarist and collaborators

5 Jan 2012

(Slap The Moon) Shirish Korde’s Nada-Ananda concerto allows classical guitarist Simon Thacker and South Indian violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, working with the Edinburgh Quartet, Brazilian bassist Mario Caribe and percussionist Iain Sandilands, to show…

New Year in Vienna and A Viennese New Year

Austrian-themed classical concerts by the SCO and RSNO

13 Dec 2011

What would New Year music be without Vienna? No matter how many times orchestras sail up and down the Beautiful Blue Danube, pop the corks in the Champagne Polka or waltz their way through the overture to Die Fledermaus, audiences flock to hear their…

The Scottish Ensemble’s candlelit concerts to focus on the Baltic Renaissance

Music by composers Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür to feature

16 Nov 2011

While the phrase ‘it’s Baltic’ is usually heard in relation to Scotland’s freezing temperatures, this winter it can be applied to something a bit warmer. The Scottish Ensemble’s traditionally candlelit concerts home in on the Baltic nations and music by…

Emily Doolittle, Rody Gorman and Paragon Ensemble - Songs of Seals

Canadian composer, Gaelic poet and Glasgow group collaboration

21 Oct 2011

We all love to see their inquisitive friendly faces around many of Scotland’s coastal waters, but how many people have heard seals singing? Can they actually sing? According to the Canadian composer with the wonderfully apt name of Emily Doolittle…

Family Fun Music Day

Programme of music events aimed at opening up the Glasgow Concert Halls to younger music-lovers

19 Sep 2011

Mission Impossible-style light beams that play musical notes as you cross them, a giant labyrinth of music and light, and a dark room filled with scary sounds – hardly business as usual at Glasgow’s City Halls. Organised by Svend Brown, director of…

Scottish Chamber Orchestra present parent and baby concerts

Big Ears, Little Ears series brings Beethoven to daytime slot

14 Sep 2011

It’s never too young to start listening to music, but for the babies, toddlers and their parents who want more than ‘Twinkle Twinkle’, the live orchestral experience isn’t one usually on offer. Putting that to rights is the Scottish Chamber Orchestra…

Scottish Opera take new work on tour

Triple bill of satire and Greek mythology

24 Aug 2011

Scottish Opera goers are spoiled for choice in early September as the company puts on no less than three different productions in the space of just over a week with one of them, Orpheus in the Underworld, then heading off on tour all around Scotland.

Ravi Shankar - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 22 Aug

A mesmerising show of classical Indian music as part of 2011 EIF

24 Aug 2011

Ravi Shankar crossed over into popular culture with his associations with various 60s musicians, working with and/or influencing the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks and The Byrds. Going on to play at iconic festivals such as Woodstock and The Monterey…

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Programme of Messiaen, Tchaikovsky and Unsuk Chin

16 Aug 2011

When it comes to Edinburgh’s festivals, most Koreans have an upside-down view. Thanks to enormous hit shows from Korea such as the Matrix-style circus spectacle Jump! and last year’s Chef!, the Fringe has a huge profile back in South Korea. What goes on…

Fringe show The Trains explores Holocaust

Music and video with score by Steve Reich, Weill, Mahler, Puccini and Górecki

10 Aug 2011

Songs from the Holocaust might seem too dark a subject to tackle. But Greek-born singer Marika Klambatsea is convinced that even music from this bleakest of periods can be life-affirming. ‘Music can help people overcome tragedy. From these songs, you…

Classics at Greyfriars set for 2011 Edinburgh Fringe

Beethoven concert series with church backdrop

10 Aug 2011

Taking advantage of the unique way that music can be presented in the context of a festival, Greyfriars Kirk (at the top of Candlemaker Row) is presenting all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas and string quartets over the course of a new two-week long series…

Qing Cheng

Epic, millenium-spanning Chinese love story part of the China Fringe Festival

21 Jul 2011

A night at the opera takes on a whole new meaning with Qing Cheng, an elaborate yet moving Chinese musical making its European debut at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall as part of the China Fringe Festival. Top billing in a week of cutting-edge entertainment from…

Opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten set for 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Russia's Mariinsky Theatre and Jonathan Kent bring Strauss opera to EIF

7 Jul 2011

To say Jonathan Kent's EIF opus is 'a bit' epic is like saying Edinburgh gets 'a bit' busy in August. This summer the Brit director joins forces with Russia's Mariinsky to stage the little-seen Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow). A cast…

Amjad Ali Khan to perform set of morning ragas on sarod at EIF 2011

Edinburgh 11am concert accompanied by Ravi Shankar's evening ragas

7 Jul 2011

The sarod may not be as familiar an instrument to western audiences as the sitar made famous by Ravi Shankar, but virtuoso player Amjad Ali Khan is happy to establish its proper context. 'Ravi Shankar's teacher was a sarod player,' says Khan on the line…

Theatre, music and dance highlights from the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Semiramide and King Lear among picks

7 Jul 2011

The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) has been a benchmark for quality and innovation in the performing arts since its inauguration nearly 65 years ago. This year artistic director Jonathan Mills builds his programme around the multi-faceted…

Music highlights from the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

Melvyn Tan and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra among picks

7 Jul 2011

Melvyn Tan. The Queen's Hall morning concerts can usually be relied on for a few Festival surprises. Hearing perfectly formed piano music by 18th century Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti alongside Sonatas and Interludes by 20th century American John…

Qatsi trilogy with Philip Glass live score highlight of Edinburgh International Festival

EIF 2011 screening of Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi

5 Jul 2011

One of the earliest Edinburgh screenings of Koyaanisqatsi, the first of Godfrey Reggio’s remarkable trilogy of films scored by minimalist composer Philip Glass, was in an old porn cinema opposite what is now the Festival Theatre, then a bingo hall.

Seven Angels opera tackles Paradise Lost

Composer Luke Bedford uses Milton’s epic to explore envorinmental themes

29 Jun 2011

According to Wikipedia, there are over ten thousand individual lines of verse in Milton’s Paradise Lost. That’s a bit much for an opera. So, for his new Seven Angels, leading young British composer Luke Bedford uses Milton’s epic as the starting point…

Edinburgh International Festival 2011 IN festival membership scheme

EIF and The List deal for half-price tickets, events and freebies

24 May 2011

Edinburgh International Festival - in association with The List magazine - are offering members of an innovative and exclusive membership scheme a whole host of half-price tickets, event passes and freebies for the 2011 Festival season. Membership to…

Hebrides Ensemble: Kurtag - Kafka Fragments

Work based on Kafka’s diaries and letters with Soprano Elizabeth Watts

24 May 2011

One of Britain’s hottest new singing talents, whether in opera or on the concert platform, 31-year-old soprano Elizabeth Watts (pictured) joins leading chamber music group Hebrides Ensemble for Kafka Fragmente by György Kurtág, an extraordinary…

Kronos Quartet's David Harrington on Glasgow concerts – full interview transcript

Ensemble's artistic director on curating a mini-festival

28 Apr 2011

The List: Could you tell me first of all when it was that you decided to put together this programme and how long you’ve been working on it? David Harrington: You know it seems to me we’ve been thinking about this for at least a year, probably more.

Red Note Ensemble's May tour to focus on Salvatore Sciarrino's Infinito Nero

20 Apr 2011

While ecstasy may well mean different things to different people, in the context of Red Note Ensemble’s May tour it is all about Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino and his Infinito Nero. Based on the visions, or ecstasies, of early 17th century…

Kronos Quartet to curate Glasgow mini-festival in May 2011

Highlights include Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Jon Rose and Matmos

6 Apr 2011

Not every new music quartet can count Nine Inch Nails and Nelly Furtado amongst their list of collaborators, nor put live performances with David Bowie and Allen Ginsberg under their achingly-creative belt. The Kronos Quartet, are not your average…

The Okavango Macbeth: Alexander McCall Smith’s 'Shakespeare and baboons' opera

The author/librettist teams up with Tom Cunningham and Robert McFall

24 Mar 2011

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.