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Sat 8 June 2013, 7.30pmPre-concert talk 6.45pmQueen’s Hall

Britten 3 Divertimenti (arr. Morton)Shostakovich String Quartet No. 2 (arr. Morton) Shostakovich Two pieces op.11Britten String Quartet No. 2 (arr. David Matthews) Britten and Shostakovich: two musical giants of the 20th century who, despite language and geopolitical barriers, struck up a warm friendship.

The boisterous and energetic sides of Britten’s personality come to the fore in these two works for strings in arrangements by our Artistic Director Jonathan Morton and composer David Matthews – who spent three years as Britten’s assistant at Aldeburgh. The freshness of Britten’s intense and powerful String Quartet No. 2 belies the fact that its enormous finale is built on a device by Purcell, a hero of Britten’s, who died 250 years to the day before the work’s first performance. Shostakovich’s second string quartet bubbles with a similar energy to Britten’s, with flavours of Russian folk and klezmer music, with a triumphant series of variations to finish.

If you’re a registered student you can attend any of our evening concerts for only £5! Under 16s can attend all evening events for free accompanied by a paying adult.

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Re-defining the string orchestra

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THE QUEEN’S HALL85 – 89 Clerk Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9JGTel: 0131 668 2019 Web: thequeenshall.net

Tickets £15

You can save £3 on the price of each ticket by purchasing a subscription for £48 for all concerts. Contact Queen’s Hall box office for details

How to book

Scottish Ensemble, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD0141 332 4747 scottishensemble.co.ukRegistered charity no. SC001539 @scotensemble scottishensemble

Edinburgh 2012 - 13

Welcome to the 2012–13 season in Edinburgh! Throughout the season we’ll be celebrating the centenary of one of my favourite composers: Benjamin Britten. Every concert in this season will feature a work by Britten alongside music written by the composers that inspired him: Mozart, Bach, Purcell and Schumann. We’ve also commissioned Scottish composer Martin Suckling to write a series of musical postcards which will feature across the season.

A highlight in Edinburgh this season will be the candlelit concert in Greyfriars Kirk featuring the iconic Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach. Tickets for last year’s candlelit concert disappeared fast – so be sure to book early to guarantee your place at this special event.

IlluminationsTue 23 October 2012, 7.30pmQueen’s Hall

Mozart Divertimento in D K 136Schumann String Quartet No. 3 in A Major op. 41 (arr. Morton)Purcell Fantasias 9, 5 & 11Britten Les Illuminations

Tenor Thomas WalkerVideo Artist Netia Jones

“I alone have the key to this savage parade” intones the tenor throughout Les Illuminations, one of Benjamin Britten’s best-known works. Scottish tenor Thomas Walker and live visuals from video artist Netia Jones will guide us through Britten’s eerie and dark but sensual sound-world, and the crystal chalets, copper palm trees, stags, Venus and Bacchantes, and castles built from bones depicted in Arthur Rimbaud’s poetry. The first concert in our 2012-13 season celebrating Britten’s centenary year, we’re also delving into some of Britten’s musical passions with works by Purcell, Schumann and Mozart. As a performer, conductor and composer, Britten frequently turned to these composers for inspiration – hear why for yourself.

VariationsConcert by CandlelightWed 5 December 2012, 7.30pmGreyfriars Kirk

Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank BridgeBach Goldberg Variations (arr. Sitkovetsky)

A great way to start the festive season: an evening of candlelight, top-quality performances and one of the seminal works in the classical repertoire – the magical Goldberg Variations by J. S. Bach. Created as a tribute to his teacher, the composer Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten’s variations for string orchestra each have their own individual character which together, like Bach’s, create an epic narrative touching on a wide variety of musical styles. In our atmospheric candlelit venues, the threads of the ancient and simple concept of variations will weave their spell, creating an uplifting and inspiring experience.

La FolliaFri 15 February 2013, 7.30pmQueen’s Hall

Geminiani Concerto Grosso ‘La Follia’ Górecki Harpsichord Concerto Vaughan Williams Violin Concerto in D minor ‘Concerto Accademico’ Holst St. Paul’s Suite Górecki 3 Pieces in Old Style Vivaldi Concerto Grosso op.3 no. 10 RV580 in B minor Britten Simple Symphony

‘La Follia’ – musical madness. You just can’t fight it when music gets in your head – this can be uplifting, maddening, or both! Should you succumb to ‘La Follia’ at this concert, there will be plenty of musical ‘ear-worms’, ensuring the Ensemble experience stays with you long after the concert. Polish composer Henryk Górecki is most famous for his Symphony No. 3 of Sorrowful Songs, which managed to beat Madonna in the UK charts in the early 1990s. There’s a lot more, however, to this fascinating Polish composer whose beguiling melodies and ancient rhythms speak affectingly to a 21st-century audience.

This project is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of Polska Music programme.

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Jonathan MortonArtistic Director