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CLASSICAL MR MCFALL'S CHAMBER – AT HOME IN A FOREIGN LAND Old Saint Paul’s Church, Edinburgh, Tue 19 Jun; St John’s Kirk, Perth, Wed 20 Jun Known for their eclectic approach to programming, the latest from Mr McFall’s Chamber is a series of ten concerts based around the theme of migration, exile and displacement. A theme that has relevance at any time, whether past, present or future, it is, however, one that is particularly pertinent at the moment. Performances later in the season turn to Mexico and Poland, reflecting on economic migration, but for the first concert the focus is entirely on Giya Kancheli’s extraordinarily powerful piece, Exil. Originally from Georgia, the 82 year old Kancheli now lives in Belgium following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. ‘He’s from the same generation as late Soviet composers like Scnittke and Pärt, and there are some very dramatic moments in his music’, says artistic director, Robert McFall. Scored for violin, viola, cello, double bass, alto flute, synthesiser and – originally – tape, Exil features a soprano soloist (Susan Hamilton) in settings of poetry by Paul Celan and Hans Sahl, as well as the 23rd Psalm. ‘It is mostly slow-moving,’ says McFall, ‘with a lot of silence. The way he builds the silences, they are as powerful as the music. It is a very sparse setting, taking its name from the poem by Sahl.’ All in German, the texts will be projected so that they can be read as the performances take place. Kancheli was described by the Russian composer Ridion Schedrin as ‘an ascetic with the temperament of a maximalist – a restrained Vesuvius’, and his music is known for its spiritual characteristics. Written in 1994, the 50 minute long Exil was first performed by Mr McFall’s Chamber in Edinburgh in 2002, then in Orkney’s St Magnus Festival a few years later. ‘We always wanted to come back to it,’ says McFall, ‘as it is such a powerful piece of music.’ (Carol Main)
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EDINBURGH ROYAL CHORAL UNION: VERDI REQUIEM McEwan Hall, Sat 2 Jun, edinburghfirst.co.uk/venues Professional, student and amateur musicians combine forces in Verdi for a new generation, as a gala performance of Verdi’s Requiem and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater combines singers from several of Edinburgh’s top choirs, impressive young soloists and a pro orchestra, all brought together under the baton of maestro Michael Bawtree.
WÜRTH PHILHARMONIC Usher Hall, Sun 3 Jun, usherhall.co.uk The international series at the Usher Hall comes to a triumphant close with the great Maxim Vengerov as the soloist in Bruch’s Violin Concerto in the first half, while in the second, he returns to conduct the Würth Philharmonic in the Symphony No 10 by Shostakovich, a work remarkable for its reflection of life as ruled by Stalin.
THE GLASGOW BARONS: STRAMASH Govan Old Parish Church, Fri 22 Jun, glasgowbarons.com Season One of this new orchestra of young professionals, based in and belonging to the community of Govan, brings together old and new. The concert’s title takes its name from Alasdair Nicolson’s piece of the same name, while singer/songwriter Ainsley Hamill showcases the results of her creative work with Govan Reminiscence Group before Tchaikovsky’s evergreen Serenade for Strings. All under the baton of founder conductor Paul MacAlindin.
EDINBURGH
SCOTTISH ENSEMBLE: MOZART BY NUMBERS The Queen’s Hall, Fri 1 Jun, thequeenshall.net Incredibly, particularly so as he died at the age of only 35, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote over 600 pieces of music. Six of them, from a string duo to a fuller symphonic score, are heard interspersed with more recent music in an intriguingly curated programme.
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EAST NEUK FESTIVAL: MISERERE The Bowhouse, St Monans, Fri 29 Jun, eastneukfestival.com Time to be whisked away by the spell of the Fife coast and The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, as they perform William Byrd’s exquisitely written Mass for Five Voices alongside other Renaissance masterpieces by Josquin and Carver.
MUSIC AT PAXTON: SEAN SHIBE Paxton House, by North Berwick. Thu 19 Jul, musicatpaxton.co.uk Edinburgh based 20-something guitarist Sean Shibe has been taking the musical world by storm, whether with his first recording on the Delphian label (number two coming up), concert and broadcast performances or walking off with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist of the Year award at a glitzy London dinner ceremony in May. Hear him in the intimate Picture Gallery of Paxton House playing Scottish lute music alongside works by Dowland, Villa-Lobos and Bach.
1 Feb–31 Mar 2018 THE LIST 107 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018 THE LIST 107
Sean Shibe
RSNO: OUNDJIAN CONDUCTS MAHLER NINE Usher Hall, Fri 1 Jun, usherhall. co.uk It’s the final season concert of RSNO Music Director Peter Oundjian and what a way to bring things to a close as he takes orchestra and audience through this powerful score of Viennese waltzes, hymn tunes, nostalgic song and glowing brass in a sumptuous feast of poignant and heartfelt music. Also Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 2 Jun, glasgowconcerthalls.com