Behind the music
List of News Articles

Two centuries of musical sunrises
19 February 2024
From Haydn to Maxwell Davies, composers have delighted in portraying the majesty of the rising sun. We look at a few of them ...
Arrangements, (re)orchestrations and transcriptions: a bluffer's guide
15 January 2024
Is there any real difference between these terms?
The Prix de Rome: a double-edged sword
8 January 2024
Berlioz tried four times to win France's most prestigious competition for young composers. Was it worth it?
SCO at 50: your memories
1 January 2024
As the SCO turns 50, we look back on your memories of the Orchestra
Haydn's symphonies and their nicknames
18 December 2023
Hen, Miracle, Imperial ... Where do all those nicknames come from?
How the waltz conquered the world
4 December 2023
Now seen as the epitome of elegance, the waltz was once thoroughly anti-establishment ...
Vaughan Williams and the revival of English music
13 November 2023
There's more to Vaughan Williams than 'The lark ascending' ...
The re-emergence of Czech music
23 October 2023
How Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) rediscovered her musical heritage in the 19th century.
Mozart and Prague
18 September 2023
A tale of mutual appreciation
The Origin of Colour
5 September 2023
An introduction to Jay Capperauld's The Origin of Colour which receives its world premiere this autumn.
Napoleon and the Eroica
28 August 2023
If the Eroica was originally entitled the Bonaparte, what does the music tell us about Beethoven's view of Napoleon?
SCO soloists at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
10 July 2023
SCO musicians take centre stage at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe in three intimate afternoon concerts at Northesk Parish Church.