News
List of News Articles
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Ryan Bancroft: "a conversation with the leader of a Finnish orchestra changed how I heard Sibelius"
30 September 2024
We speak to conductor Ryan Bancroft about music from (his not quite native) Scotland and Scandinavia.![Max Mandel plays the viola, concentrating hard on the sheet music. He wears a black suit and tie.]()
The viola concerto
23 September 2024
Our examination of the concerto continues with the viola, whose potential as a solo instrument was long unrecognised.![Three pictures: a man leans forward, his elbows on some sheet music; a man with a large belly, wearing a black carnival mask; a caricature sketch of a man in a wig]()
Pulcinella and the dangers of (mis)attribution
16 September 2024
Stravinsky's ballet Pulcinella is based on music by Pergolesi. Or is it?![Two Black men (the first an 18th century gentleman, the second in a formal Edwardian suit) and a black woman in profile]()
The first Black composers
9 September 2024
To celebrate Black History Month, we look at the early history of Black composers, from Joseph Boulogne to Samuel Taylor-Coleridge.![Three women: one in a high wig and flowers in her hair, another sitting in profile, and (in a drawing) standing in a group as part of a stage production]()
Mozart and the Weber sisters
2 September 2024
We look at Mozart's close relationship with the children of the Weber family.![A man plays the cello, his bow on the string]()
The cello concerto
26 August 2024
In a new series for 2024/25, who better than the SCO players to guide us through the best concertos for their instrument?![]()
The reappraisal of Così fan tutte
1 July 2024
Neglected during much of the 19th century, Mozart's Cinderella of an opera is more relevant than ever today.![]()
Spanish music by French composers
1 July 2024
From Bizet to Ravel, we look at the long-standing fascination of French composers for the music of Spain.![]()
UN:TITLED programme
13 June 2024
Read the programme for our UN:TITLED concerts on 15-16 June.![]()
Beethoven's Seventh: the apotheosis of the dance?
10 June 2024
How has Wagner's epithet affected the way we approach this favourite Beethoven symphony?![]()
The resurrection of the string orchestra
3 June 2024
The once unfashionable string orchestra made an incredible comeback in the late 19th century, one which has not let up since.![A drawing and two photographs of women in distinctive fashions of the period (around 1855, 1918 and 1913), all three looking out towards the viewer]()
Lili Boulanger et les autres: female French composers
20 May 2024
Where do Louise Farrenc and Cécile Chaminade fit into France's rich history of female composers?











