Carol Main

Cottier Chamber Project set for West End Festival 2012

Hebrides Ensemble, Scottish Ensemble and Red Note also on bill

22 May 2012

Classical music always has a strong presence at Glasgow’s West End Festival these days, but this year is extraordinary. Not only does the Cottier Chamber Project make a big-style return visit with small-scale music, but no less than nine choirs form…

Scottish Opera revive Besch's celebrated Tosca adaptation

The new production stars Susannah Glanville and José Ferrero

25 Apr 2012

Described as a ‘shabby little shocker’ by one of America’s leading musicologists, Puccini’s Tosca has been a success with audiences the world over since its premiere in Rome in 1900. From the countless productions of it, one which has had particularly…

SE Inversion – Travelling against time

The Scottish Ensembles latest show starts with 1960s modern classical music and works back to Bach

27 Mar 2012

Moving back in time is something more usually found in the world of science fiction than classical music performances. Putting its audience into a time machine where the concert hall takes on the role of tardis for the night, the Scottish Ensemble…

SMC to host Composition Marathon

Event at the Scottish Music Centre to feature performances from Daniel's Beard, Pure Brass and more

8 Mar 2012

To commission ten composers at the same time to write a new work each is quite an undertaking. To ask them all to do it in the space of only twelve hours could be verging on insanity, especially as none of the ten will have an inkling of which…

New Edinburgh restaurant The Mulroy brings touch of country-house class

Chef Damien Rolain's menu favours locally-sourced, seasonal dishes

3 Feb 2012

Not far from Spean Bridge, the Battle of Mulroy between the MacDonalds and the Mackintoshes took place in 1688. With fresh tête-à-tête daffodils on the tables blooming harmoniously with muted yellow walls, an Edinburgh restaurant bearing the name of the…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.

Scottish Opera: Orlando - Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wed 16 Feb

Tim Mead, Sally Silver and Claire Booth star in Harry Fehr's WWII adaptation of Handel's opera

3 Mar 2011

In setting Handel’s Orlando in a 1940s London hospital, young director Harry Fehr has been completely ingenious. Taken from Orlando Furioso, the Italian Renaissance epic which inspired three Handel operas, the tale is of Orlando, the great soldier of…

Portrait of The Composer - Chopin in Glasgow

Chopin retrospective includes recital of pieces from composer's 1848 tour of Scotland

17 Feb 2011

As part of Svend Brown’s remarkable vision in his first season as artistic director of Glasgow’s Concert Halls, the Portrait of the Composer series is one that stands out. Throwing fresh light on the work and lives of some of Europe’s greatest…

NYOS Futures - Vanishing Boundaries brings new scores and visual arts together

Work from Katrina Burton, Ken Dempster, Stephen Davismoon and Stephen Kilpatrick

11 Feb 2011

In introducing young musicians and their audiences to music of the late 20th and early 21st century, the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland’s exemplary futures initiative takes another step into the world of contemporary artistic expression this…

Paragon ensemble mark 30th anniversary by showcasing recent collaborations

Glasgow-based group's birthday features Heather Corbett and a Bhangra remix.

8 Feb 2011

Happy Birthday to Paragon! For the past thirty years, the Glasgow-based ensemble has been making music, much of it commissioned from Scottish based composers, and encouraging people from all walks of life to enjoy it. For their special 30th birthday…

Scottish Opera and the RSAMD stage production of The Cunning Little Vixen

Janácek’s opera filled with perpetual themes of life, death and love

14 Jan 2011

Building on collaborative achievements of the past few years, Scottish Opera and the RSAMD now turn to Janácek’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen. Set in a forest, its characters are both animal and human. Inspired by a comic strip from a newspaper, it’s…

Artisan Piano Trio's Edinburgh concert targets post-work slot

Young, imaginative and ambitious trio present first season of concerts, Cascades

23 Dec 2010

Bringing an exciting new dimension to Scottish chamber music, the Artisan Piano Trio are young, imaginative and ambitious. Formed by cellist Clea Friend, with SCO violinist Aisling O’Dea and much in demand freelance pianist Simon Smith, they are now…

Magnus Lindberg's Graffiti performed by RSNO

Finnish composer's orchestral study of Pompeii graffiti

16 Nov 2010

With funding for culture in Italy facing the same challenges as ministerial budgets across Europe, the future of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which needs constant support for excavation and preservation, is uncertain. Numerous stray dogs reputedly…

Philip Glass' opera In the Penal Colony tours UK

Disturbing chamber opera adaptation of Kafka

2 Nov 2010

In its second year of celebrating the best in contemporary music and dance as the seasons change, the Traverse Theatre welcomes a return joint visit from Music Theatre Wales and Scottish Opera to open the 2010 Autumn Festival. With a new production of…

Scottish Opera: The Marriage of Figaro

Sir Thomas Allen moves from performing to directing

26 Oct 2010

Poacher turned gamekeeper isn’t overly common in the world of opera, but one internationally famous singer who has successfully moved from performing to directing is Sir Thomas Allen. Bringing the same team who produced a hugely enjoyable Barber of…

Usher Hall marks reopening with Houston Symphony Orchestra performing Holst’s Planets Suite

Improvements to Edinburgh venue make it among 'world’s best concert halls'

6 Oct 2010

When some plaster fell from the ceiling of Scotland’s grande dame of concert halls over 14 years ago, who’d have known it was the start of major redevelopment which has just reached completion and is celebrated in style on 10.10.10? Tackled in two…

John Paul Jones: A Musical

16 Sep 2010

Although it seems unlikely that the father of the American navy was the son of a Scottish gardener, the story of how Nithsdale born John Paul Jones achieved such revered status is so incredible that it has to be true. What is surprising, however, is…

Orlando

A preview of the adaptation

10 Sep 2010

With a composer whose film scores (Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet being but two) have won endless awards, and a director whose vision for music theatre knows no bounds, Cryptic’s new stage version of Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando promises to be an…

Concert to take place on board first flying Concorde

Lammermuir Festival hosts Peter Nelson's electro-acoustic piece

7 Sep 2010

It stopped flying in 2003, but the chance to step aboard Concorde is still available, albeit without any possibility of zooming off to New York. It is only but one – but perhaps the most unusual – concert venue being used by the new Lammermuir Festival…

Opera Australia brings Bliss to Edinburgh

An opera set in 1980s Australia explores a middle-aged ad-man’s mid-life crisis

19 Aug 2010

Bliss. What is it? Perfect happiness? And who achieves it? Maybe not as many people as think they do. Sometimes a life that seems blissful may be far from it and the search has to start again. Enter Harry Joy, the main character in Australian author…

Sarah Connolly

Mezzo soprano returns to jazz roots

12 Aug 2010

Among other things, 2010 is likely to be memorable as the year of the mezzo-soprano at the Edinburgh International Festival. Joyce DiDonato, Petra Lang and Christine Brewer, who replaces the indisposed Susan Graham, are just three of the famous names…

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra play Carl Nielsen's Fourth Symphony

Helsinki-based orchestra bring two nights of romance and drama

5 Aug 2010

In a festival blockbuster of an orchestral programme at the Usher Hall, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra’s pair of concerts stands out as a triple celebration of one of Scandinavia’s greatest composers, Wagner and the human voice. In putting on…

American mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato returns to Edinburgh Festival

DiDonato performs Idomeneo and with David Zobel at EIF 2010

16 Jul 2010

Last summer, mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato soldiered on with a broken leg in London and was plunged into darkness at the Usher Hall. Carol Main keeps everything crossed for the Kansas girl’s Edinburgh return

Gould Piano Trio and Doric String Quartet set for Music at Paxton

7 Jul 2010

It’s only a few years old, but the Music at Paxton festival of top-notch chamber music in a beautiful setting is an event looked forward to by music lovers far and wide. Whether resident in the peaceful Borders countryside where Paxton House sits by the…

Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Katherine Broderick visit East Neuk Festival

24 Jun 2010

Although it’s not far away, rural Fife can sometimes seem like another world, especially when the sounds of the East Neuk Festival are spilling from centuries old country churches in the delightful villages of Crail, Cellardyke and St Monans. Opening…

A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle

28 May 2010

Made up of over 2,500 lines, Hugh MacDiarmid’s A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle can safely be labelled a long poem. Written in Scots, its length gives ample opportunity for MacDiarmid’s 1926 stream of consciousness to explore a wide array of topics…

Five:15 in twenty:10

14 May 2010

The state of the economy is never far from the headlines these days, but as an opera subject it is somewhat unexpected. Not so in Scottish Opera’s latest batch of five short new operas. For the third year of the company’s bold commissioning strand…

Scottish Chamber Orchestra - Erkki-Sven Tüür premiere

28 Apr 2010

With a population of just over 1 million, Estonia, one of the EU’s newer small countries, is significantly smaller than Scotland. While new in terms of joining the EU, Estonia is, of course, like Scotland in that it is a much more ancient and historic…

La Bohème

Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sat 27 Feb 2010

15 Apr 2010

Two completely contrasting operas are on offer from Scottish Opera in the company’s spring foray to Edinburgh this year. Not that Edinburgh audiences are unfamiliar with Stewart Laing’s production of Puccini’s La bohème. First seen back in 2004, Laing’s…

MacMillan at 50 - James MacMillan 50th birthday concert

31 Mar 2010

One good thing – usually among many – about performing groups, composers and ‘big’ birthdays is that the parties tend to go on for a while. The Scottish Ensemble have been marking their 40th anniversary all season, and while the actual date of James…

Jacques Loussier Trio

19 Mar 2010

Nestling among the classical superstar line-up of pianist Joanna MacGregor, Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey and violinist James Ehnes, who appear in Glasgow’s International Classical Season to celebrate the music of JS Bach, there’s a name that doesn’t…

Jacques Loussier Trio bring their pioneering crossover sound to Glasgow

City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 21 Mar 2010

10 Mar 2010

Nestling among the classical superstar line-up of pianist Joanna MacGregor, Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey and violinist James Ehnes, who appear in Glasgow’s International Classical Season to celebrate the music of JS Bach, there’s a name that doesn’t…

Edinburgh Quartet - 50th anniversary gala concert

17 Feb 2010

As the highlight of their golden anniversary season, the Edinburgh Quartet celebrate in style with a special gala concert and new commission from composer Howard Blake, he of Snowman and ‘Walking in the Air’ fame. Blake also appeared as pianist in the…

Scottish Ensemble: Toby Spence sings Jacques Brel

1 Feb 2010

Way back in the 60s, when the Scottish Ensemble was born, it was christened the Scottish Baroque Ensemble. Although a group always admired for pushing boundaries, a programme featuring music by Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel forty years down the…

RSAMD – War and Peace

15 Jan 2010

In what must be their most ambitious opera project ever, the RSAMD present the premiere of the original version of Prokofiev’s opera War and Peace. Based on Tolstoy’s epic novel of the same name, the version of the opera which will be seen in Glasgow…

Classical Christmas Concerts

17 Dec 2009

Even the bah humbugs of the festive season can’t deny that it brings some fabulous music along with the tinsel and the tat. Christmas straight from movie scores, Christmas music for children, carols with and without candlelight for choirs of all sounds…

The Voice Inside - Lyell Cresswell

9 Dec 2009

(Naxos) Quirky, atmospheric, funny, intense, dramatic are all adjectives which can be used to describe Edinburgh adoptee but New Zealand-born composer Lyell Cresswell’s concerto for violin, soprano and orchestra, The Voice Inside. Settings of seven…

Robin Ticciati – Scottish Chamber Orchestra

4 Dec 2009

Love affairs, even in the highly emotionally charged world of classical music, are not always shouted about from the rooftops. But in the love-at-first-sight relationship between the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and their new principal conductor…

SCO Homecoming Concert

19 Nov 2009

As Scotland’s Year of Homecoming draws to a close, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra pays tribute to three of the country’s finest composers with a special focus on Edward Harper who died earlier this year. In the world premiere performance of the complete…

Scottish Opera –The Elixir of Love,

Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Sat 24 Oct

4 Nov 2009

Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love is a feel-good opera with a lighthearted tale of true love triumphing against the silliness of the odds that come its way. With its predictable ‘all’s well that ends well’ outcome, Scottish Opera’s revival of Giles…

Classical hitlist

4 Nov 2009

RSNO: Benedetti Plays Bruch Whatever did classical music do without the wonderful young Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti? There could just be a few seats left for her performances with the RSNO and returns are always a possibility too. If no joy…

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra – Bohemian Rhapsodies

30 Oct 2009

Long before Freddie Mercury ever came along, Bohemian rhapsodies were flowing from the pens of composers in the part of world from where the name originates. Strictly speaking, not necessarily rhapsodic in form, it is the symphonies, concertos…

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ 75th birthday

A festival of events to celebrate the great musician

16 Oct 2009

One of the UK’s best known and loved musicians, Master of the Queen’s Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, celebrates his 75th birthday with a festival of events presented by some of his dearest friends. That they happen to be the country’s leading…

Scottish Opera: Italian Girl in Algiers

She takes a trip to Scotland too this autumn

2 Oct 2009

Sun-kissed blondes in bikinis aren’t the usual types found on the world’s operatic stage. Especially bouncing up and down on a spacehopper. Scottish Opera’s new co-production with New Zealand Opera of Rossini’s The Italian Girl in Algiers is a bit…

Autumn Season Preview: Classical Music

What's ahead in the next few weeks

17 Sep 2009

It’s autumn, the leaves are turning and it’s that time of year when classical music’s own type of seasons start up again to keep everyone going through until the Spring. A major difference this year is that the orchestras are returning to their…

Classical hitlist

3 Sep 2009

RSNO: Hollywood Classics Bringing a busy summer season to its close, the RSNO and their conductor David Danzmayr present a popular mix of music from the movies. Lawrence of Arabia, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars are all there in radiant…

Nicola Benedetti set for Proms in the Park

3 Sep 2009

Always a great night, the BBC’s Proms in the Park returns to Glasgow Green to celebrate the end of the Proms series of concerts in relaxed – and appropriately Scottish – style. Violin soloist Nicola Benedetti performs with the inimitable tenor and…

Il Ritorno d’Ulisse

Ulysses the opera brought to life by giant puppets

14 Aug 2009

In parallel with Scotland’s big Homecoming theme of 2009, South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company make their Edinburgh debut with a puppet and animation interpretation of Monteverdi’s opera about Homer’s Ulysses returning from war to his homeland.

Alexander McCall Smith's Scotland at Night

Candlelit concert of music and poetry

12 Aug 2009

For a composer contemplating setting some songs but needing advice from a writer as to who might be an interesting collaborator, No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency author Alexander McCall Smith would seem a reliable choice as a font of knowledge on the…

Bach at Greyfriars

Europe’s finest converge for Johann Sebastian

10 Aug 2009

In Jonathan Mills’ third Edinburgh International Festival programme, the highly successful early evening slots he has established at Greyfriars Kirk are focused this time round on the music of one composer – JS Bach. Across eight hand-picked top…

Made in Scotland

The soul of Scotland in music

6 Aug 2009

A favourite of youth orchestras at the Fringe, Peter Maxwell Davies’ An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise makes it to the main EIF stage for the first time as part of an orchestral programme celebrating music made in Scotland. The only piece in the Festival…

Ludus Baroque

Indulging in Alexander’s Feast

3 Aug 2009

His fame these days may be mainly due to his commanding role as conductor of The Really Terrible Orchestra, but there is a much more serious side to Richard Neville-Towle’s pursuits with a baton. Having founded the baroque chamber orchestra, Ludus…

Libera

Boys in fine voice

3 Aug 2009

Think English choirboys and centuries of choral tradition in vast cathedrals spring to mind. Libera is somewhat different. The South London boys, aged seven to 16, who make up the internationally chart-topping group, would rather think of themselves as…

Paragon Ensemble – The Spirits of Sounds at the Teenage Fair

CCA, Glasgow, Wed 29 Jul

23 Jul 2009

The title comes from the Dusseldorf group of which Wolfgang Flür was drummer prior to joining the German band that pioneered popular electronic music, Kraftwerk, in the early 70s. Still very much active in electronic music, Flür would surely be…

St Kilda - Island of the Birdmen

A multi-media, operatic portrayal of Island life

13 Jul 2009

At 191 metres, there is no building in Scotland anywhere near as tall as Stac an Armin, the highest sea stack in Britain. Along with the slightly shorter Stac Lee, these wildly dramatic sea cliffs were among the hunting grounds for the birdmen of St…

Ivo Pogorelich in concert

Starring role for the Belgrade pianist who has proven all his critics wrong

13 Jul 2009

As the Susan Boyle saga so ably demonstrated, you don’t have to be the number one winner in competitions to gain fame. Long before her second place hit the headlines, the more notorious world of international piano competitions dealt what should have…

Mendelssohn on Mull Festival 2009

25 Jun 2009

At a time of year when classical music in the central belt takes a bit of a breather in anticipation of the abundance of the Edinburgh International Festival, the annual Mendelssohn on Mull Festival offers a refreshing change of scene. Celebrating its…

Scottish Opera: Cosi Fan Tutti

11 Jun 2009

OPERA For their keenly anticipated summer week in Edinburgh, Scottish Opera bring a choice of two operas – Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Jules Massenet’s Manon. Neither will disappoint. Both have been deservedly well received by public and press from…

La Serenissima

28 May 2009

Unobtrusively hidden away in the Cowgate, Edinburgh University’s St Cecilia’s Hall is not only the oldest purpose built concert hall in Scotland and the second oldest in Britain, but is also home to an extensive collection of early instruments…

Scottish Opera: Manon

14 May 2009

All singing, all dancing might be a phrase originally applied to musicals, but it’s a description that well fits Scottish Opera’s new production of Manon. A chorus of 40, orchestra of 60-plus, fully choreographed ballet scenes and at least eight…

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

30 Apr 2009

Icelandic music is unusually prominent in May with the SCO’s world premiere of Haflidi Hallgrimsson’s (pictured) Concerto for double bass and orchestra plus a concert of Icelandic chamber music. The new concerto has been written specially for the SCO’s…

Cosi Fan Tutte

16 Apr 2009

Two internationally renowned Scottish artists take pride of place in Scottish Opera’s Così fan tutte, a production first seen in Strasbourg, where it was created for Opéra National du Rhin in 2005. Although director David McVicar was with Scottish Opera…

Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Springtime in Paris

19 Mar 2009

CLASSICAL MINI FESTIVAL OK, there’s no way that Glasgow and Edinburgh can compete on the romance front, but bringing as much of Paris in the Springtime that is possible to Scotland, the RSNO present a mini-festival of music and events inspired by the…

Mr McFall’s Chamber with Michael Marra

5 Mar 2009

COLLABORATION If there is one thing predictable about Mr McFall’s Chamber, it is that they are never predictable. Every performance brings something completely out of the ordinary. For their latest musical adventure, the core string quartet is joined…

Hitlist - Classical

5 Mar 2009

● Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Bach and Mozart Not long back from India, the SCO are just about to jet off on their travels again, this time to Krakow, Budapest and Istanbul. Hear their tour programme in Edinburgh and Glasgow before they set off, with…

Scottish Opera – Five: 15

5 Mar 2009

OPERA Following on from the great success of last year’s showcase of five new, short operas from Scottish composers and writers, the latest batch of Scottish Opera’s Five: 15 once again shows that the company is onto a winner. Taking five completely…

Noisy Nights

19 Feb 2009

Although it sounds like it’s something to do with closing time at the weekend, Noisy Nights is actually a Monday evening happening all about new music. Taking place in the bar of Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, performances will be of new scores which…

Colin Currie and the Scottish Ensemble

5 Feb 2009

COLLABORATION Percussionist extraordinaire Colin Currie is making a return visit to his native Scotland to be re-united with the Scottish Ensemble for the first performances of a new specially commissioned piece intriguingly named now you hear me…

Scottish Opera - La Traviata

5 Feb 2009

OPERA What better opera for St Valentine’s Day than La Traviata? Verdi’s impassioned tale of the tragic heroine whose love is truer than true, however, is much more than heady romance. In David McVicar’s lovely-to-look-at new production for Scottish…

Haydn Trio Eisenstadt

22 Jan 2009

NEW COLLABORATION Born exactly 200 years apart, but living in Ayrshire communities just a stone’s throw away from each other, it is especially apt that celebrations for Scotland’s most famous poet should include a new setting of his work from…

Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Mendelssohn 200

8 Jan 2009

The first of a series of SCO concerts celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of German composer Felix Mendelssohn presents his music in the company of others who inspired him as well as those he himself inspired. Not just people, but places…

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Christmas at the Movies

11 Dec 2008

CHRISTMAS CONCERT SPECIAL There are Christmas concerts for everyone this festive season, from Milkshake! Live, My First Carol Concert (see Kids) to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in its annual candlelit airing by Ludus Baroque and Dunedin Consort’s…

Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Damnation of Faust

27 Nov 2008

CLASSICAL There aren’t many musical happenings that are too big for Edinburgh Festival Theatre, but the RSNO’s Damnation of Faust is one of them. By far the biggest event of their season, it is huge. With the Usher Hall still closed, and nowhere else…

Artur Pizarro - The Complete Piano Works of Maurice Ravel, Volume Two

13 Nov 2008

Keenly awaited second volume of Ravel’s piano works recorded by the Portugese pianist does not disappoint. There is a graceful clarity to Pizarro’s playing that suits Ravel to perfection. The Sonatine may not be as familiar as the ever-popular and…

Scottish Chamber Orchestra – East Meets West

13 Nov 2008

Samaagam, in case you didn’t know, means coming together. For the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, it is the coming together of musical traditions from east and west. Samaagam, in this instance, is a new concerto by Amjad Ali Khan (pictured), reputed to be…

Scottish Opera - La Traviata

30 Oct 2008

‘Born to die’ seems a bit of an extreme expression to describe a singer, but for Carmen Giannattasio it appears to fit the bill. Star of tragic opera after tragic opera, the Italian soprano says it’s unfortunate, but, ‘I have died so much in the last…

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra - Tea and Symphony

16 Oct 2008

CLASSICAL A bit of tea and sympathy goes a long way to lift the spirits, but, with a clever play on words, the BBC SSO start a new series serving up tea with symphony, a pairing that promises to have no less an effect. Doldrumy afternoons in wintry…

New Season Previews

2 Oct 2008

CLASSICAL After the short post-Edinburgh Festival classical music famine, it is back to feast time on the concert and opera scene as all the main companies celebrate the start of their autumn seasons. October alone would surely justify Glasgow its…

Caledon

4 Sep 2008

They’ve toured all over the world, but for the first time in a couple of years Scotland’s three tenors, Caledon, are performing back in their home city of Glasgow. Classically trained Alan Beck, Jamie MacDougall and Ivan Sharpe bring a programme of…

Regal king size

21 Aug 2008

Karol Szymanowski considered himself an outsider which is why he identified with Sicily’s King Roger II and why his opera has become a gay favourite, finds Carol Main The Edinburgh International Festival’s staged opera programme is swinging from one…

Budapest Festival Orchestra

Folk and gypsy influence evident in programme of two concerts

21 Aug 2008

Starting off with a programme inspired by gypsy music and Hungarian folk melodies, the Budapest Festival Orchestra give two full orchestral concerts in the last week of the Festival plus two presented by some of their soloists. Featuring some rather…

Camerata Ritmata

Guitar virtuoso-fronted ensemble experiment in jazz, classical and world

21 Aug 2008

A short bus ride heading eastwards and in no time at all the crowds ease as the coastal community of Musselburgh comes in sight with its handy bus stop just outside the honest toun’s Brunton Hall. Appearing here with special guest singer, Daisy Chute of…

Jerusalem Quartet

Globally renowned Israeli foursome make their EIF debut

21 Aug 2008

Making its Edinburgh International Festival debut, the Jerusalem Quartet is the final string quartet to appear at this year’s impressive Queen’s Hall series. Performing in the wake of the Ysaÿe, Belcea and Pavel Haas quartets, the quartet is, says EIF…

Prokofiev - The Symphonies

Russian around with the tireless Valery Gergiev

14 Aug 2008

In one of the most exciting orchestral weekends hosted by the Usher Hall, the London Symphony Orchestra appears with its principal conductor, Valery Gergiev, performing all of Prokofiev’s seven symphonies plus the two violin concertos with soloist…

Metropolitan Cathedral Organ Concerts

New organ put through its paces

14 Aug 2008

Fringe statistics tend to be fairly staggering, but if all the organ pipes on the Fringe were added together, their total would beat the lot. The new organ at St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral alone has almost 4000. Built in French style by Matthew…

The Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Revolutionnaire Et Romantique

Good grief as Gardiner tackles Brahms

14 Aug 2008

After an absence of almost ten years, authentic performance pioneer John Eliot Gardiner returns to the Edinburgh Festival with his Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Performing Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Begräbnisgesang…

Julian Lloyd Webber and the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra String Ensemble

Another unlikely Fringe debutante in the shape of cellist Lloyd Webber

14 Aug 2008

Five firsts at the Fringe for Edinburgh Youth Orchestra which breaks fresh ground this year with its new string ensemble of leading players, both past and present. With cellist Julian Lloyd Webber as director and soloist, its Fringe debut also features…

Song and Civilization

Chants will be a fine thing

7 Aug 2008

If a singing nun conjures up images of The Sound of Music or Sister Act, then it’s time to get real and listen to the exquisite beauty of Sister Marie Keyrouz. Appearing as part of the EIF’s fascinating Song and Civilization series, the Lebanese-born…