Scottish Ensemble with Alasdair Beatson 23 - 30 October 2011

 

Read more about the Scottish Ensemble's tour with Alasdair Beatson to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth, Inverness, Dundee and Wigmore Hall

SCOTTISH ENSEMBLE £10:11/12 SEASON

23 – 30 October 2011

Stravinsky & Mendelssohn

With Alasdair Beatson, piano

 

The Scottish Ensemble, Scotland’s most adventurous and versatile musical ensemble, begins its £10:11/12 season on Sunday 23 October with a 6 date tour featuring rising-star pianist, Alasdair Beatson.  The Ensemble will be performing a programme of Mendelssohn and Stravinsky to audiences across Scotland before travelling to London for the first concert of its 11/12 residency at Wigmore Hall. 

 

This will be the Scottish public’s first opportunity to take advantage of the special flat-rate £10 ticket price, which will be on offer at all Scottish Ensemble main season concerts during the £10:11/12 season.  The decision to make all seats available for £10 this season clearly demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to delivering first-class musical experiences for everyone, even in this climate of economic uncertainty and tightened purse strings. Especially in times like these, the Scottish Ensemble wants to remain accessible to new audiences, and give them the opportunity to try out the powerful and rewarding concerts which this enterprising outfit is known for.

 

For the opening tour of the season, Perthshire-born pianist Alasdair Beatson will be joining the Ensemble in a stimulating programme of works by Stravinsky and Mendelssohn.  Alasdair will be playing a double concerto written by the gifted 14 year-old Mendelssohn with Scottish Ensemble Artistic Director, Jonathan Morton, as violin soloist.  This work gives the soloists the opportunity to flex their virtuosic muscles, something Alasdair is very much looking forward to:

‘I'm thrilled to be returning to play with the Ensemble, especially in a work which combines a favourite composer of mine - Mendelssohn - with the concept of a concerto for two soloists.  Knowing Jonathan as I do, the performances are sure to have a wonderfully spontaneous energy, a great feeling of camaraderie, and also, when demanded for by this extremely dramatic music, some first-rate musical feuding too!’

 

Jonathan is equally enthusiastic about the collaboration as Alasdair’s performance style is very much in line with that of the Ensemble:

‘Alasdair and I meet, musically and artistically.  I cannot think of another pianist I’d rather play with.  He’s got a totally unique musical brain, and people like Alasdair absolutely fit into the Ensemble atmosphere and ethos.’  

 

The rest of the programme includes two pieces from Mendelssohn’s later opus 81, as well as music by Igor Stravinsky.  The latter’s unmistakable musical style will be explored by the Ensemble in both Concerto in D and Concertino, where energetic, primeval rhythms coexist with refined neo-classical sophistication plus a dash of Hollywood glamour. 

 

For more details and booking information see the Scottish Ensemble website or contact your local box office. 

 

For more information, interviews with Alasdair Beatson or General Manager Thorben Dittes, or to request images please contact:

 

Keren Nicol

Marketing and Development Manager, Scottish Ensemble

0141 332 4747

keren.nicol@scottishensemble.co.uk    

 

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

 

Programme:

Stravinsky              Concerto in D

Mendelssohn          Capriccio and Fugue from Op 81 (arr Morton)

Stravinsky              Concertino, for 12 instruments (arr Morton)

Mendelssohn          Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings in D minor

 

Sunday 23 October 2011, 7.30pm

Venue:         The Music Hall, Aberdeen

Booking:       01224 641122

                   www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

Tickets:        £10/£5 students/under 16s free with a paying adult

 

Monday 24 October 2011, 8.00pm

Venue:         One Touch Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness

Booking:      01463 234 234 

                   www.eden-court.co.uk

Tickets:        £10/£5 students/under 16s free with a paying adult

 

Tuesday 25 October 2011, 7.30pm

Venue:         Perth Concert Hall, Perth

Booking:       01738 621 031 

                          www.horsecross.co.uk

Tickets:        £10/£5 students/under 16s free with a paying adult

 

Wednesday 26 October 2011, 7.30pm

Venue:         St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee

Booking :      01382 434 940 

                   www.dundeebox.co.uk

Tickets:        £10/£5 students/ under 16s free with a paying adult            

 

Thursday 27 October 2011, 7.30pm

Venue:         The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Booking:       0131 668 2019 

                   www.thequeenshall.net

Tickets:        £10/£5 students/ under 16s free with a paying adult

 

Sunday 30 October 2011, 7.30pm

Venue:         Wigmore Hall, London

Booking:       020 7935 2141

                   www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

Tickets:        £15-£30       

 

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

Scottish Ensemble Company Profile

Versatile, enterprising and ambitious, the Scottish Ensemble is a tight-knit band of outstanding string players from around Europe who perform regularly together under Artistic Director, Jonathan Morton.

 

The foundation of their work is the rich repertoire of music for strings of the three centuries since the age of Bach and Vivaldi. They bring a sparky questing attitude to bear on this heritage and new work habitually rubs up against much loved masterworks within the same programme. Commissions from John Tavener, James MacMillan, Sally Beamish, David Horne, John Woolrich, Craig Armstrong, Steve Martland and Thea Musgrave have enriched their concerts in recent years.

 

They also venture further afield musically by collaborating with musicians of different traditions. Leading Shetland fiddler Aly Bain, and folk musician Dougie MacLean have both performed with the ensemble. Maverick musicians such as American bassist Edgar Meyer and Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto (both free spirits, equally happy in many different musical worlds) have proven the ideal partners, and created joyfully adventurous and unique events in which Western ‘classical' works sat happily alongside folk, electronica and improvisation.

 

Although it is based in Glasgow, the majority of the Scottish Ensemble's projects - some 50 concerts a year - tour throughout Scotland, appearing in many major towns and cities, as well as further flung areas including the Islands and northernmost Highlands of Scotland. It also presents programmes of small scale chamber music showcasing the talents of its many excellent individual players.

 

The Ensemble appears regularly at London's Wigmore Hall, BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival as well as City of London Festival; Aldeburgh Festival;  and the St Magnus Festival, Orkney.  Internationally, it has toured to China (Shanghai Spring International Festival), Germany and France.

 

Many music lovers further afield know the ensemble best through its recordings, which include its award-winning CD of Tavener, as well as the critically acclaimed  CD of Britten with tenor, Toby Spence (both on the Linn Records label). More recent recordings include the Eight Seasons, featuring Jonathan Morton as soloist (on Signum Records), and the Ensemble's CD with Alison Balsom on EMI Classics which was the label's biggest selling CD of 2010.

 

Concerts and recordings may be the most visible aspect of the Scottish Ensemble's work, but its commitment to education, outreach and community work in Scotland is equally important. This work develops constantly, and includes large scale creative projects for children - many of them experiencing live performances of this kind for the first time - instrumental coaching and masterclasses, and professional development seminars for workplaces.

  

Alasdair Beatson Biography

Highly regarded as an individual and accomplished musician, Scottish pianist Alasdair Beatson continues to make an impact on the classical music scene.  Highlights of this season include the recording of his debut solo CD for SOMM Recordings, and a recital of French piano works on Bastille Day (July 14th) in London's Wigmore Hall. 

 

As soloist, Alasdair received awards from the Kirckman Concert Society, the Philip and Dorothy Green (Making Music) Award for Young Artists, and in 2003 won the 2nd Prize in the China Shanghai International Piano Competition.  For the Park Lane Group, Alasdair gave critically acclaimed recitals at the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room, receiving excellent reviews in five national newspapers.

 

Also a sought-after chamber musician, Alasdair was invited to join the tours of International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, in the UK, and Musicians from Steans Institute, Ravinia Festival, in the USA, after his participation in their masterclasses and concerts.  He was awarded major chamber and collaborative piano prizes from the Royal Over-Seas League, in addition to the ROSL Ensemble Prize for his chamber group Ensemble na Mara. 

 

Forthcoming performances include concerts in the chamber music festival at Lake Tuusula, Finland, a tour of New Zealand and Australia with the Royal Over-Seas League, and a further solo Wigmore Hall recital in 2009, presented by the Kirckman Concert Society.

 

Alasdair studied with John Blakely at the Royal College of Music, London, graduating in 2002 with First Class Honours and a Director's Golden Jubilee Award.  He subsequently completed a Performer's Diploma at Indiana University, studying with Menahem Pressler.  In masterclass he has played to Leon Fleisher, Alicia de Laroccha, John Lill, Murray Perahia and Ferenc Rados.

 

Alasdair has performed with the Scottish Ensemble on a number of occasions: in 2010 he joined the group for a tour with Alison Balsom, including a performance of Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 (Op. 35) for piano, trumpet and strings.  He also performed as part of a trio (with Ensemble musicians) in a lunchtime concert in 2010.

 

'an artist of incredible talent and confidence' - the Independent

'artistry incarnate' - Sunday Times