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| Maxim Emelyanychev and Scottish Chamber Orchestra |
Amazingly, 2025/26 will be Maxim Emelyanychev’s seventh season as principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and he will be presenting ten programme with the orchestra during the season, along with Andrew Manze as principal guest conductor. Emelyanychev’s programmes include Strauss’ Metamorphosen, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, contrasting Glorias from Vivaldi and Poulenc, Berlioz’ L’enfance du Christ , Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Mozart’s final three symphonies. The orchestra’s principal cellist, Philip Higham joins him for Schumann’s Cello Concerto, and violinist Nicola Benedetti joins Emelyanychev and the orchestra for Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.
Earlier this year, I had an enjoyable chat to the orchestra’s associate composer Jay Capperauld [see my interview] and the season will feature three of Capperauld’s works. Andrew Manze conducts The Language of Eden, a choral work that reimagines the birth of language itself, and a second work will also feature the chorus, The Winter’s Brightening, whilst Stylus Scarlatti reimagines Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas for the bright colours of the orchestra. Whilst Capperauld’s The Great Grumpy Gaboon will be returning too.
Other new music includes the UK premiere of Scottish composer Helen Grime’s River, performed by the orchestra and director/percussionist Colin Currie, the UK premiere of Jörg Widmann’s affectionate homage to Schumann, Albumblätter, and Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto, dedicated to its performer here, Lawrence Power. The SCO Chorus will be performing on of Roderick Williams’ works, O Adonai, as part of their seasonal concerts, whilst the baritone himself will be performing Berlioz and Butterworth with the orchestra.
Violinist Alina Ibragimova will be the soloists in Hartmann’s Concerto funèbre, a work she has long championed. Andrew Manze and the orchestra’s clarinettist Maximiliano Martín present three iconic works by John Adams, Shaker Loops, Gnarly Buttons, and Fearful Symmetries as part of the New Dimensions series which also includes Colin Currie in Steve Reich and Joe Duddell along with Helen Grime’s River, and saxophonist Jess Gillam in Anna Clyne, George Walker and Caroline Shaw, as well as two works written especially for her, by John Harle and Dani Howard.
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| SCO Tea Dance Concerts |
The orchestra’s Creative Learning activities reach over 10,000 people across Scotland every year, and this year the season includes multisensory family concerts, Immerse concerts for secondary schools, tea dance concerts and a continuation of their Craigmillar Residency. They will be celebrating five years of the Craigmillar Residency with Tapestry – a showcase featuring performances by the SCO Seen and Heard Ensemble and SCO Craigmillar Voices choir, including a 25-minute work curated by Jay Capperauld.
Full details from the orchestra’s website.
