Scottish Ensemble with Colin Currie

Quicksilver

3 - 11 February 2008

Sunday 8 February at 3.00pm

City Halls, Candleriggs, Glasgow G1 1NQ
Tickets£14.50/£12 (£11/£9 concession)
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30/£25
Adult and child£15/£12
Box Office: 0141 353 8000
Online at www.glasgowcityhols.com

To open our spring series of concerts, the Scottish Ensemble is re-united with the virtuosic percussionist Colin Currie, in a programme that includes Mozart's Divertimento in F K138, Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete, and world premiere performances of a new Scottish Ensemble and Wigmore Hall co-commission by Austrian, Kurt Schwertsik specially written for the combined forces of Colin and the Ensemble.

Premiere performances of Schwertsik's, now you hear me, now you don't, will be given at concerts between 3 and 11 February in Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, Glasgow and London.

"Brittle, unsettling and full of bite"
The Sunday Telegraph
(on Colin Currie)

On Sunday 8 February in Glasgow the Ensemble the performance will provide an exciting new concert experience for young people. At the end of the first half of the concert, they will have a choice - to stay in the concert hall to hear Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete, or join a workshop backstage with Colin and his colleagues, and explore the music ideas they have just heard in a room full of percussion instruments. The workshop is suitable for young people aged 7 and over. This initiative is supported by the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council.

Kurt Schwertsik's music has been described as "mercurial and idiosyncratic with a refreshing lightness of touch." Born in 1935, he studied with Stockhausen, but rejected serialism in favour of new forms of tonality and he draws inspiration from mavericks like Satie and the artists of the Dada movement. "I first came across him through a production of his short opera, The Wondrous Tale of Fanferlizzy Sunnyfeet," explains Morton, "He is such an intriguing, wonderful witty musician, and very well known in Austria, where he played for many years in the horn section of the Vienna Philharmonic. When I originally discussed the idea of a piece for percussion and strings with Colin Currie, who's a member of the Ensemble's extended family, we agreed to each come up with a list of suggested composers ... and Schwertsik came up at the top of both of them, even though we'd never spoken about him." The concerto will be placed between the Classical and the neo-classical: Mozart's Divertimento in F K138 and Stravinsky's Apollon Musagete.

In 1772 Mozart was 16 years old and on the cusp of adulthood - a dangerous age for someone who has made his name as a child prodigy. On his return to Italy that year, he took with him three pieces (now catalogued as K136, 137 and 138). At the top of the manuscript someone has written 'Divertimento' - and the title has stuck. Each piece has only three movements, which is short, since a divertimento, like a serenade, would have at least five movements, and, moreover, they would be dances. The chief delight of all three pieces is Mozart's instinctive feel for string instruments; his writing reveals a natural affinity and understanding granted to few composers of any age.

Hard on the heels of Oedipus Rex Stravinsky produced Apollon Musagete, a homage both to 17th century France and also to the 19th century ballet tradition. This piece divided even his most loyal supporters. The ballet itself has minimal plot: the Muses gather to display their gifts to the God - their master - Apollo. It was a big success, something Stravinksy attributed to the dancing of Serge Lifar and to Balanchine's choreography, but the score itself is a triumph on many levels. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the piece though is Stravinsky's comment that he aimed to replace instrumental colour with musical 'volumes'. He limited his colours by choosing string orchestra, a relatively homogeneous ensemble. Then he animated its textures constantly by varying the density of the ensemble. At one extreme there are immensely weighty chords, and at the other, solo cadenzas. There is an ebb and flow between those extremes, and numberless subtleties in the layering of different combinations of timbres and textures that make the music flow in different ways constantly.

Prior to the Scottish Ensemble performances in Aberdeen and Inverness, Colin Currie will be in conversation talking about the Ensemble's new Schwertsik commission. This 'conversation' is free to ticket holders. At Wigmore Hall, Artists in Conversation - Colin Currie, Jonathan Morton and Kurt Schwertsik will be in conversation with Annette Moreau prior to the concert.

Scottish Ensemble will be producing a series of podcasts to accompany these performances which will be published on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Scottish Ensemble and Wigmore Hall websites during the week beginning 12 January 2008.

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Further information: Telephone: 0141 332 4747 M.07970 185935
email
www.scottishensemble.co.uk

Programme

Tuesday 3 February at 7.30pm
The Sanctuary, Queen's Cross Church, Albyn Place, Aberdeen AB10 1YN
Tickets£14.50 (£11 concession)
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30
Box Office: 01224 641 122 Online at www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

Pre-concert conversation at 6.30pm
Colin Currie with Prof Peter Stollery
Free to ticket holders

Wednesday 4 February at 8.00pm
Eden Court, Bishop's Road, Inverness IV3 5SA
Tickets£14.50 (£11 concession)
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30
Box Office: 01463 234 234
Online: www.thequeenshall.net

Pre-concert conversation at 7.15pm
Colin Currie with Jonathan Morton
Free to ticket holders

Thursday 5 February at 7.45pm
Queen's Hall, Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JG
Tickets£14.50/£12 (£11/£9 concession)
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30/£25
Box Office: 0131 668 2019
Online at www.thequeenshall.net

Friday 6 February at 7.30pm
Marryat Hall, City Square, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tickets£14.50 (£11 concession)
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30
Box Office: 01382 434 940

Saturday 7 February at 7.30pm
Perth Concert Hall, Mill Street, Perth PH1 5HZ
Tickets£14.50/£12 (£11/£9 concession).
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30/£25
Box Office: 01738 621 031
Online at www.horsecross.co.uk

Sunday 8 February at 3.00pm
City Halls, Candleriggs, Glasgow G1 1NQ
Tickets£14.50/£12 (£11/£9 concession)
Under 26£5, Under 18£3
Family ticket£30/£25
Adult and child£15/£12
Box Office: 0141 353 8000
Online at www.glasgowcityhalls.com

Wednesday 11 February at 7.30pm
Wigmore Hall, 356 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2BP
Tickets£20,£17,£14 &£10
Box Office: 020 7935 2141
Online at www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

Artists in Conversation - 6pm
Colin Currie, Jonathan Morton and Kurt Schwertsik with Annette Moreau
Tickets£3
Box Office: 020 7935 2141
Online at www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

Scottish Ensemble will receive£242,369 from the Scottish Arts Council towards the cost of foundation funding for 2008/09 to support the ensemble which has gained an international reputation for producing high standards of performance, innovative and engaging education related work and flexibility across music genres.

Scottish Ensemble will receive an additional£8,511 from the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council towards the cost of the concert and percussion workshop for children aged 7+ alongside pre and post concert interpretative resources.