Scottish Ensemble at the QEH: hugely energetic, top-quality playing

The Scottish Ensemble

By Stephen Pritchard, 30 September 2024

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“leaving the listener fighting for breath”

Reviewed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 29 September 2024

Meredith, Tull

Sculthorpe, String Sonata No. 3 "Jabiru Dreaming" (Deciso)

Shaw, The Evergreen (Moss, Stem)

Widmann, "180 beats per minute" for String Sextet

Dessner, Réponse Lutosławski (Resonance; Des traces)

Greenwood, Film music from There Will Be Blood (Proven Lands)

Glass, Symphony no. 3

Scottish Ensemble

Pushing boundaries: Scottish Ensemble’s Shifting Patterns in Perth

David Smythe, 29th October

Jonathan Morton leads the Scottish Ensemble in Górecki’s extraordinary Quasi una fantasia, before diving headlong into seven Anna Meredith tracks, featuring visuals by Ewan Jones Morris.

****1

Karen Cargill and the Scottish Ensemble burst into Songs for Life

David Smythe, 13th November

Life, death, childhood, community and love are celebrated in Songs for Life by Karen Cargill with the Scottish Ensemble in an exquisitely filmed performance.

*****

Scottish Ensemble’s adventures in music for a winter’s night

David Smythe, 7th December

A deeply soulful musical adventure for a winter’s night from the Scottish Ensemble to celebrate their 50th anniversary

****1

Soulful Advent music from the Scottish Ensemble with Sean Shibe

David Smythe, 8th December

The Scottish Ensemble with guitarist Sean Shibe perform a thoughtful programme of ancient and modern Christmas-themed music in a candlelit St John’s Kirk.

****1

Utterly thrilling: Prelude – Skydiving from a Dream

David Smythe, 10th November

Prelude – Skydiving from a Dream from Scottish Ensemble and Andersson Dance: mesmeric choreographed Bach and Lutosławski with a blistering performance of Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue played from memory and on the move. Thrilling, daring and exciting.

*****

From Naxos to Carthage: Ancient Classical Tales from Karen Cargill and the Scottish Ensemble

David Smythe, 20th February

Mezzo soprano Karen Cargill and the Scottish Ensemble guest-led by Matthew Truscott in a programme of music from Purcell to Stravinsky all inspired by tales from Ancient Greece.

****1

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Stephen Pritchard

Stephen Pritchard began singing as a treble at the age of eight and progressed to become a tenor in Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, the Gibbons Consort and now the English Chamber Choir. Writing about music has been at the core of his 40-year career in journalism, chiefly at the Observer. He has been known to play a pretty mean jazz double bass.

Scottish Ensemble at the Southbank: exceptional evening of hugely energetic, top-quality playing