The Not so Bonnie Wee Well
August 9, 2008UK soldier killed in Afghanistan
August 18, 2008
SCO tour brings popular classics to life
Summer touring season brought to a close across central lowlands
Charismatic SCO Principal Maximiliano Martín takes centre stage with a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto as part of the four-concert Autumn Classicstour across Central Scotland and Fife between 3-6 September 2008.
Following the success of the Orchestra’s tour across the central lowlands last year, the players will perform in Paisley Town Hall (Friday 5 September).
The programme will be directed by young Austrian conductor Aleksandar Markovic, who makes his SCO debut with this tour. It opens with Haydn’s rousing Symphony No 96 ‘Miracle’, with its lyrical writing for the wind section, the prominence of which was unusual for its time. Completed in 1791, the ‘Miracle’ nickname came about after a chandelier fell from the ceiling of the concert hall during the performance, narrowly missing the audience. However, it later turned out that this actually occurred during a performance of Haydn’s later symphony, No 102. But the name stuck.
Mozart’s popular concerto is the centre piece of the programme, and soloist Maximiliano Martín features on an SCO/Linn Records recording of the work on the highly acclaimed Mozart Wind Concertos CD, released in 2006. The concerts close with Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, which is explosive from start to finish.
Maximiliano explained: “Performing as a soloist is always a special occasion and even more if it is with the SCO. I have played the Mozart Concerto many times but this concerto is always a challenge, it is so popular that basically it has to be perfect.”
SCO Concerts Director Judith Colman added: “There was a great reception for our first tour of Central Scotland last year and we’re very much looking forward to bringing the SCO to the region again in September. The full Orchestra will perform in Motherwell, Falkirk, Paisley and Dunfermline, with a popular programme bringing together some of the greatest Classical composers and featuring Mozart’s wonderful clarinet concerto with soloist Maximiliano Martín.”