Edinburgh News: music

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra are developing into a very fine orchestra indeed. Last night, under the expert baton of guest conductor Trevor Pinnock, they gave an excellent performance of compositions by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Mozart.

The composers in this programme are interlinked by friendship. Brahms visited Robert and Clara Schumann in 1853 when he was 20, and immediately became a close friend of the couple.

The Arnold Singers from Rugby School were in the choir stalls under the direction of Rugby’s Director of Music, Richard Dunster-Sigtermans, and waiting behi

 Almost 120 players between the ages of 13 and 21 sat patiently on stage without a single fidget to be seen when on came the young conductor, Garry Walker, reaching his podium with a jaunty spring in his step, to conduct Shostakovich’s short Festive Overture.

The concert began with the overture to Mozart’s well known opera Don Giovanni.  Then the orchestra had a slight reshuffle with additional players in preparation for the arrival of the violinist Vadim Gluzman to play Brahms’ Violin Concerto.

As we approached the Usher Hall we saw Stephen Duffy interviewing Donald Runnicles on the huge screen on the plaza outside the Sheraton Hotel, across the road from the Usher Hall. The former George Watson’s College pupil, who went on to sell programmes in the Usher Hall in order to get to hear some of the world’s finest musicians perform there in the early seventies, was saying just how good it was to be back in the Usher Hall. In his view its acoustic is amongst the best five in the world. And his own world wide career as a conductor is putting him high on anybody’s list.

"Oceans apart - these words convey so much of the spirit and ambition behind the Edinburgh International Festival in 2010." So writes Jonathan Mills, its Director, in his introduction to the programme.

The 2010 Edinburgh International Festival Fireworks Concert will this year celebrate "Music from the Movies", it was announced by Festival Director Jonathan Mills this morning at the launch of the programme for the EIF, taking place in August and early September.

Northern Ballet Theatre's reputation has grown immeasurably since David Nixon took over as Artistic Director in 2001. Since then he has created and choreographed nine full-length ballets for the company and in December last year won an OBE for services to dance. 

Richard Egarr, Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music, was the guest conductor of this performance of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven compositions played by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.