Music Classical
Dundee FREE Lunchtime Concert: Dundee University Choirs University Of Dundee, Chaplaincy Centre, 01382 223181. 1.20pm. Music from choirs made up of students from Dundee University.
Saturday 13 Glasgow ■ Children’s Classic Concerts: Sleigh Ride Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 1pm & 3pm. £10 (£6). Julian Clayton conducts a glittering programme of seasonal treats. Presented by Owen Gunnell and Oliver Cox. FREE Junior Academy of Music RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 4pm. Music performed by the Junior Academy’s Big Band and Scottish Music Groups. ■ Opera Scenes Alexander Gibson Opera Studio, RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.15pm. £12 (£8). See Thu 11. ■ Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Lill Plays Liszt Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £10–£32. Jun Märkl conducts the RSNO in Tchaikovsky’s passionate and enduringly popular Symphony No 6 (‘Pathétique’). Soloist John Lill joins them for Liszt’s fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto No 1 and Les préludes. Pre-concert talk at 6.45pm.
Edinburgh FREE Christmas Concert St Mary’s RC Cathedral, 16 York Place, 7.30pm. Organist Simon Nieminski and soloists perform works by Bach and others. ■ Edinburgh Singers: Navidad Nuestra Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £10 (£8). Kate Fish conducts traditional and modern festive music.
✽✽ Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Points of View Queen’s Hall,
87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £12 (concessions available). See Fri 12. Clarkston FREE Greenbank Recitals: Jonathan Buchan Greenbank Parish Church, 36 Eaglesham Road, 1pm. Part of a regular series of recitals on the organ, with tea and coffee served afterwards.
Glenrothes ■ Glenrothes Choral Society Christmas Concert St Margaret’s Church, Woodside Road, 01592 757600. 7.30pm. £6.50 (£2–£5.50). A choral celebration of Christmas featuring performances of Bush’s Cantata and Britten’s Ceremony of Carols.
Maybole ■ Carols in the Castle Culzean Castle, 01655 884400. 3pm & 6.30pm. £12. A selection of popular carols performed in the historic surroundings of the castle by the Choir of Paisley Abbey. Booking essential. Peebles ■ Meadows Chamber Orchestra Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre, Eastgate, 01721 725 777. 7.30pm. £10 (children free). Peter Evans conducts Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, Copland’s Music for the Theatre, and Schubert’s Symphony No 5. Post-show wine party in the theatre studio.
Sunday 14
Glasgow ■ Quartet for the End of Time St Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 353––355 Kilmarnock Road, Newlands, 423 7446. 3.30pm. £5 (free–£3). Begun in 1940 while Messiaen was interned in a German prison camp, the quartet was premiered in front of prisoners and guards by its composer and three fellow prisoners. 94 THE LIST 11 Dec 2008–8 Jan 2009
■ Nine Lessons and Carols Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, The Square, off University Avenue, 6.30pm. £tbc. The University’s annual service. ■ Glasgow Chamber Choir Hyndland Parish Church, 79–81 Hyndland Road, 6.30pm. Retiring collection. Music and readings for Christmas. Edinburgh FREE Sunday Morning Harpists National Museum of Scotland, 2 Chambers Street, 247 4422. 10am–noon. Stroll through the galleries to the tranquil sound of the harp as performed by Heather Yule and others. FREE Christmas Choral Concert National Museum of Scotland: Hawthornden Court, 2 Chambers Street, 247 4422. 12.45pm, 1.45pm, 2.45pm & 3.45pm. Four talented local choirs come together to perform a variety of festive favourites. ■ Children’s Classic Concerts: Sleigh Ride Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 1pm & 3pm. £6–£29. See Sat 13. ■ Edinburgh Grand Opera Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 225 9846. 1pm, 2pm & 3pm. Included in admission: £4.89–£9.79. Christmas carols in the magnificent surroundings of Edinburgh Castle’s Great Hall. ■ St Giles at Six: Rudsambee St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile, 226 0673. 6pm. Retiring collection. The renowned Edinburgh-based a cappella group performs seasonal music from Scotland and further afield. ■ Newtongrange Silver Band Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £7–£12. One of Scotland’s top brass bands perform Christmas tunes and carols.
Dundee ■ Haydn’s Creation Caird Hall, City Square, 01382 434940. 7.30pm. £14 (free–£11). Dundee Choral Union presents Haydn’s biblical oratorio. Norman Beedie conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and soloists Judith Howarth, Gordon Wilson and Paul Keohone. Paisley ■ Paisley Philharmonic Choir Paisley Town Hall, Abbey Close, 887 1010. 7pm. £9.50 (£8). Traditional carols and well loved Christmas songs from the choir, who are joined by the Scottish Co- op Brass Band.
Monday 15
Glasgow ■ Music on Mondays: Les Sirènes RSAMD (Guinness Room), 100 Renfrew Street, 1pm. £5. The all-female vocal group performs Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with works by Elgar and Eddie McGuire, accompanied by harp student Hannah Phillips. Andrew Nunn conducts. ■ Electroacoustic Event with Gilles Gobeil Alexander Gibson Opera Studio, RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 7.30pm. £5. ‘See through sound’ with the award-winning Canadian composer’s acousmatic and mixed music, inspired by literary works.
Tuesday 16
Glasgow ■ Christmas Gala: Raymond Gubbay Christmas Festival Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £20–£29.50. Angela Rippon spreads Christmas cheer with a range of much-loved works performed by the Scottish Concert Orchestra including Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Schubert’s Ave Maria, as well as seasonal works. With a group of fine soloists. Edinburgh ■ Ludus Baroque: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio Canongate Kirk, 153 Canongate, 6.30pm. £12 each half;
PREVIEW CHRISTMAS CONCERT SPECIAL BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: CHRISTMAS AT THE MOVIES City Halls, Glasgow, Sun 21 Dec
There are Christmas concerts for everyone this festive season, from Milkshake! Live, My First Carol Concert (see Kids) to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in its annual candlelit airing by Ludus Baroque and Dunedin Consort’s increasingly acclaimed interpretation of Handel’s Messiah. If you want to join in, there are plenty of opportunities where the normally scary possibility of audience participation takes on a cosy glow of seasonal togetherness as strangers are invited to stand next to each other, united through their singing of familiar carols and Christmas songs. One Christmas concert that stands out from the crowd as being just a
little bit different is the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas at the Movies. TV film schedules may not list the screen classics of days gone by, but you can hear their iconic scores in the orchestra’s celebration of Christmas and the Silver Screen. A Christmas Carol, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and White Christmas all feature in the performance conducted by conductor and film buff, John Wilson. Unbelievably, MGM didn’t think that their music library was worth keeping hold of and dumped the scores from classics such as Gone With the Wind and Tom & Jerry in landfill sites, not realising that the music had its own lifespan beyond that of the films. Wilson has been spending recent years recreating these scores note for note and music from cinema’s golden age makes its mark in his programming. Singing in the Rain, The Sea Hawk and Brigadoon will have audiences singing along in what is not actually nostalgic indulgence but a fresh take on some of the best orchestral music of its kind, beautifully presented by a symphony orchestra that is very much enjoying the change and the challenge of repertoire they wouldn’t normally have the chance to perform. (Carol Main)
£20 full concert. The baroque chamber music specialists perform the full 6-part oratorio, with director Richard Neville- Towle and soloists Sophie Daneman, Michael Chance, Ed Lyon and Giles Underwood. The concert is split into two halves: opt for parts 1–3 or 4–6 or enjoy the full work. ■ Hansel and Gretel Cameo Cinema, Home Street, 228 9311. 7.10pm. £20 (£19). Live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis conducts Humperdinck’s famous opera directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier. An outstanding cast includes Angelika Kirchschlager and Sir Thomas Allen. ■ St Mary’s Music School Christmas Concert Palmerston Place Church, Palmerston Place, 538 7766. 7.30pm. £8 (£1–£5). A festive evening from instrumentalists and choristers with music by Vivaldi, Beethoven, Ravel and, of course, Christmas carols. Dundee ■ Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Festive Concerts Caird Hall, City Square, 01382 434940. 7.30pm. £12.50 (£5). Get in the festive mood with the RSNO’s annual Christmas celebration. Take the family along for singalong carols and Christmas classics, including the magical theme from The Snowman.
Wednesday 17
Glasgow ■ The Glory of Christmas: Raymond Gubbay Christmas Festival Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £20–£29.50. John Pryce-Jones conducts a concert of Christmassy classics, including Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus and Adolphe Adam’s O Holy Night as well as a selection of favourite carols. With the Scottish Concert Orchestra and the Glasgow Chamber Choir. Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh University Renaissance Singers Glass Arcade, Scottish Agricultural College, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, 535 4000. 1.05pm. Noel O’Regan directs a performance of Renaissance music for Christmas. ■ Edinburgh Quartet Stockbridge Parish Church, Saxe Coburg Street, 332 0122. 7.30pm. £tbc. A performance of string quartets by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Austrian composer Hans Gál who died in Edinburgh in 1987. ■ Edinburgh Telephone Choir: Christmas Carol Concert The Braid Centre, Nile Grove, (off Morningside Road), 332 2758. Popular Christmas music.