Music Centre

Proud musical past

Did you know that Scotland's contribution to world music goes back a long way? Right back in fact to about 1788 when a young bard by the name of Robert Burns wrote 'Auld Lang Syne'. It might be over two centuries old and known in full by only a fraction of its fans, but singing 'Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind' is still the most popular way of seeing in the New Year in Europe and North America. Talking of spirited songs, did you know that Australia's 'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' was the work of another Scot? Internationally renowned folk singer Eric Bogle was born in Peebles and spent his first 25 years in Scotland before emigrating to Australia where he penned his award-winning anthem. Yet another Scot, James Thomson from Ednam, wrote the words to 'Rule Britannia'.

The novels of one of Burns' contemporaries, meanwhile, provided at least part of the inspiration for the leading German composers of the 19th century. Sir Walter Scott's historical works, which caught the romance of the common people and Scotland's wild landscape, caught the imagination too of Max Bruch and Felix Mendelssohn. Both tried to incorporate the characteristic rhythms and melodic motives of the country's strong folk tradition: Bruch in his 'Scottish Fantasy', Op.46, subtitled 'Fantasia for the Violin, with Orchestra and Harp, with the Free Use of Scottish Folk-Melodies'; Mendelssohn in his Symphony No.3 in A Minor, Op. 56, also known as his 'Scottish Symphony'.

Modern classics

Back to the present day and Scotland is home to a thriving musical community, composing everything from church and choral music to experimental jazz and soul, as well as scores for theatre and film.

Take Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (known to all as Max), who is universally acknowledged to be one of the foremost composers of our time. Born in Salford in 1934, he studied in Manchester and Rome before taking up an appointment at Cirencester Grammar School where he began composing for children. He went on to Princeton University and in 1966 was Composer in Residence at the University of Adelaide. In 1970 he moved to the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland where he writes most of his music. And what a canon of work! Max's major theatrical works include the operas 'Taverner', 'Resurrection', 'The Lighthouse' (which is one of the most performed operas of modern times) and 'The Doctor of Myddfai'; the full-length ballets 'Salome' and 'Caroline Mathilde', and the music-theatre works 'Eight Songs for a Mad King' and 'Miss Donnithorne's Maggot'. His huge output of orchestral works, meanwhile, includes no less than fourteen concertos, several light orchestral works, five large-scale works for chorus and eight symphonies. All of which, it's said, are immediately recognisable as his. Clearly a prolific composer, one of his best-known and most loved works is 'An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise' which Max describes as a musical postcard record of an actual wedding he attended on Hoy, complete with bagpipes!

Not content with composing, Max is also an accomplished conductor. Last year he finished ten years as Conductor/Composer of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and he guest-conducts orchestras both in Europe and the US, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Russian National Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic and the Philharmonia. Not bad for a man approaching his 70s. And no, he doesn't show any sign of letting up. Max's future commissions include a Mass for Westminster Cathedral in London, a cycle of ten string quartets, a piano trio and clarinet quintet.

Ayrshire-born James MacMillan

Next in the spotlight, Ayrshire-born James MacMillan of whom The Guardian wrote " . . . a composer so confident of his own musical language that he makes it instantly communicative to his listeners". MacMillan first attracted attention in 1990 with his acclaimed BBC Proms premire of 'The Confession of Isobel Gowdie'. Since then, his percussion concerto 'Veni, Veni, Emmanuel' has received over 300 performances and he has been programmed worldwide by orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics and the Cleveland Orchestra.

Edinburgh International Festival

A featured composer at the Edinburgh International Festival and South Bank Centre in London, MacMillan's long list of interpreters includes soloists Evelyn Glennie (of whom more in a moment), Rostropovich and Donohoe, and conductors Slatkin, Rostropovich, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Andrew Davis, Vnska, Maksymiuk, Bamert, Nagano and Stenz. Impressive for a career only just entering its teens. And you can rest assured, there's plenty more in the pipeline. Look out for future performances of Symphony No.3: 'Silence' at the BBC Proms in London and at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the US premire of 'A Deep but Dazzling Darkness' at the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival; the choreographic premire of 'Piano Concerto No.2' for the New York City Ballet next spring; as well as new works for the Minnesota Orchestra and Welsh National Opera.

Evelyn Glennie

Returning to that list of soloists, Aberdeen-born Evelyn Glennie is one of the best-known British musicians of her day. An extraordinarily virtuosic percussionist, she has played with all the world's major orchestras, as well as many musicians from the non-classical world, including Indian, Indonesian and South American traditional musicians, not forgetting the Icelandic singer Bjrk. With no less than sixteen solo albums to her name, as well being a performer and recording artist Glennie has also established a significant reputation for herself as a composer. Her credits include everything from Tony Kaye-directed TV commercials, to BAFTA nominated scores for crime drama, documentaries and feature films.

Sir Cameron Mackintosh

Equally prolific, though in a related field, is another Scot, Sir Cameron Mackintosh. The producer of literally hundreds of musicals around the world, Mackintosh's career has already spanned over 30 years, during which he has presented many of the stage's greatest hits, including 'Cats', 'Les Miserables' and 'The Phantom of the Opera' recent winner of the new 'People's Olivier Award' for the most popular long running West End show. In the trophy cabinet alongside it are The Queens Award for Export Achievement and a knighthood awarded in 1996 for his services to British Theatre.