BBC SSO new Chief Conductor launches 2016/17 season

• Thomas Dausgaard’s first season as Chief Conductor
• Launch of Scottish Inspirations - five new BBC Commissions inspired by Scottish culture
• A concert performance of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s The Last Supper
• A recreation of Beethoven’s famous 1808 Academy concert
• An Elgar symphony cycle

As part of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s new season, a raft of BBC Radio 3 new commissions inspired by Scotland have been revealed. Taking up his new role as BBC SSO Chief Conductor, Thomas Dausgaard signalled his commitment both to contemporary music and Scottish culture by devising and launching Scottish Inspirations, a series of new commissions which will showcase the work and ideas of composers energised by Scotland and Scottish identity.

The season includes an edition of BBC Radio 3’s Hear And Now which will include works by composers Helen Grime, Sally Beamish and Jay Capperauld. The works are rooted in Scottish connections, with Grime’s piece taking inspiration from two pictures by Scottish artist Joan Eardley, and Glasgow composer Capperauld’s piece named Fèin-Aithne meaning self-identity in Gaelic. Later in the season, there is a new work from Edmund Finnis, taking its name from a line in a poem by Scottish poet Robin Robertson.

As well as conducting these new works, Dausgaard will launch the season with Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, marking the first time the work will have been performed in Glasgow, in a recently completed version.

One the most significant concerts in classical music history will be recreated by Dausgaard in Glasgow - Beethoven’s famous 1808 Academy Concert. The three-part, three-hour marathon concert is acclaimed as a defining moment both in Beethoven’s career and in musical history.

Thomas Dausgaard, Chief Conductor of the BBC SSO, says: “I am extremely excited at the prospect of beginning my first season as Chief Conductor with such a wonderful orchestra and a wonderful range of programmes, paying tribute to some of the greatest classical music ever written and also taking fresh inspiration from Scotland – and sharing all of this with the BBC SSO’s wonderful audiences.”

Supporting the next generation of composers and musicians is something very close to Dausgaard’s heart. In a new initiative with The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he and the BBC SSO will invite students to perform solo and chamber music throughout the season, including as part of the 1808 Academy Concert.

A host of titled and guest conductors join the orchestra throughout the year. John Wilson conducts Elgar, Britten and Korngold in his first concerts since becoming BBC SSO Associate Guest Conductor, Donald Runnicles takes up his position as Chief Conductor Emeritus and conducts Mahler 4, and the BBC SSO's Artist-in-Association, Matthias Pintscher, conducts a Hear And Now concert featuring works written to mark a range of anniversaries from composer deaths to orchestral centenaries. Completing the line-up of BBC SSO conductors, Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov conducts Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins, the new BBC Radio 3 commission by Edmund Finnis, and an edition of Hear And Now featuring music by Anthony Braxton.

Martyn Brabbins returns to conduct a rare concert-staging of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s The Last Supper, which was performed at Glyndebourne 15 years ago. This is the first time the work will have been performed in Scotland. He will also embark on a complete cycle of Tippett’s symphonies, to be performed over two seasons.

Ken MacQuarrie, Director of BBC Scotland, says: “The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra enters a new era with Chief Conductor Thomas Dausgaard, highlighting the vital role the orchestra plays in contributing to programmes across the BBC, entertaining and enlightening audiences throughout Scotland, the UK and beyond.”

Gavin Reid, Director of the BBC SSO, says: “Thomas Dausgaard’s first season with us as Chief Conductor signals a new chapter for the BBC SSO, building upon our world-class reputation which enables us to attract internationally renowned conductors and soloists from across the globe.”

Guest artists
A number of outstanding guest artists appear with the BBC SSO over the course of the season, including tenor Ian Bostridge and soprano Measha Brueggergosman, pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Jan Lisiecki, and cellists Steven Isserlis and Johannes Moser. For its Afternoon Performance series, a number of BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists join the orchestra, including clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe.

Across Scotland
In addition to the Glasgow season, the orchestra will present concerts at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, (while the city’s Music Hall is closed for refurbishment) along with its usual concerts in Edinburgh, Ayr, Inverness and Perth.

Edinburgh International Festival 2016
Continuing the orchestra’s close relationship with the Edinburgh International Festival, Donald Runnicles will conduct his final concert as BBC SSO Chief Conductor at this year’s festival. The orchestra performs Schoenberg's Gurrelieder with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, with more details being announced in April 2016.

As an integral part of BBC Scotland’s output, the BBC SSO contributes to many programmes, including live and recorded broadcasts during afternoons and evenings for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland.

All concerts are currently scheduled to be broadcast live or recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Notes to Editors

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s position as one of the pillars of Scotland’s musical life has been established steadily since it was founded in December 1935. Based at City Halls in Glasgow (since 2006), it is a key contributor to the BBC’s broadcasting and cultural role and performs to large and enthusiastic audiences in venues throughout Scotland, as well as carrying out a busy schedule of recordings, concerts and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Television, and Online. A past recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for best orchestra, the BBC SSO has made over 120 commercial recordings, many of which have received prizes, including four Gramophone Awards.

Find all the latest information on the BBC SSO including a video interview with Thomas Dausgaard at bbc.co.uk/bbcsso

Thomas Dausgaard short biography
Renowned for his creativity and innovation in programming and his extensive range of critically acclaimed recordings, Thomas Dausgaard has appeared with orchestras around the world and is Chief Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Symphony (recently extended for a further three seasons), Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT), and Honorary Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

Full biography and additional images of Thomas Dausgaard available here thomasdausgaard.com/

Thomas Dausgaard conducts
Bruckner Symphony No.9 Thursday 22 September 2016
Beethoven's 1808 Academy Concert Sunday 2 October
Dvořák Symphony No.6 Thursday 10 November
Hear and Now: Scottish Inspirations Saturday 10 December
Elgar Symphony No.1 Thursday 26 January 2017
The Music of Rued Langgaard Sunday 19 March 2017
Strauss's Four Last Songs Thursday 23 March 2017
Haydn's The Creation Sunday 14 May 2017
Mahler Symphony No.7 Thursday 18 May 2017

Scottish Inspirations:
Helen Grime, Two Eardley Pictures: Catterline in Winter
Helen Grime, Two Eardley Pictures: Snow
Sally Beamish, Piano Concerto No.2: Cauldron of the Speckled Seas
Jay Capperauld, Fèin-Aithne
Edmund Finnis, The Air, Turning

AN2

Related Downloads

• BBC SSO: Aberdeen programme (PDF)
• BBC SSO: Edinburgh programme (PDF)
• BBC SSO: Glasgow programme (PDF)

Related BBC Links

• BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra