At the end of a week that's seen all three of Scotland's orchestras announce their next seasons, Glasgow Music has given us a sneak preview of the city's classical line-up for 2012-13.
In a nutshell? More minimalism, more pianists, more early vocal music – and a couple of doses of serious star power. Basically, if you've enjoyed the past few years, you'll probably like what's coming next.
Svend Brown, Glasgow Life's director of music, explains that the 2012-13 season marks the deliberate crest of a long-term programming arch. "The plan was to identify some big-boned projects that could span over three years and demonstrate growth over that period," he says. "And the big projects – Minimal, The Piano, Pavel Haas Quartet in Residence and Family Days – are behaving in exactly the way we wanted them to. In 2011-12 we sold more tickets, did more events, got more audiences, earned more money. It's working."
With Minimal Extreme in full swing this weekend and a visit from Philip Glass looming in May, it's apt that the hottest name of the next season comes in the shape of that other minimalist royalty: Steve Reich. Next March, a weekend of cross-genre concerts will be dedicated to Reich's music, with artists including Colin Currie, Pete Furniss, the London Sinfonietta – and Mr Reich himself.
The composer will perform Radio Remix, a new piece based on Radiohead songs, as well as the landmark 1972 phase piece Clapping Music. He'll also hold public talks with performers to discuss his work, and will oversee installations of his famous early experiments for cassette tape. Brown says he plans to transform the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall into a huge promenade arena, clearing out the stalls and divvying up the stage into Jools Holland-type multiple platforms.
In October, Minimal heads in another direction to one of Arvo Pärt's most staggering achievements from the 1980s: his St John Passion, or Passio, sung by Ars Nova and the Theatre of Voices under Paul Hillier. "This is one of the critical works," says Brown. "The Passio has a connection back to Stravinsky and a connection forward to innumerable works that were to come."
Brown stands by the hefty long-term attention he is devoting to minimalism – a movement he says represents a "seismic shift in the way that people attend, listen to and write music" – and says the point of Minimal has been "wedge-shaped development". "New music audiences in Scotland are typically small and not well provided for in terms of range of repertoire. You get a lot of Scottish commissions that are rarely performed more than once, and a lot of improvised music at a small ensemble level. But what you don't get much of is the wider world and the big masters: Messiaen, Boulez, Ligeti, Kurtág.
"But I didn't want to go in saying 'we'll do a Kurtág season' and play to four people," says Brown. "So we've got Glass and Reich doing new work; they're mega brands in contemporary music, and you don't have many of those. If we attract 2500 people to see Glass, I'd hope we can get 500 of them back to see something by Stuart MacRae. Hopefully we can help people over their great fear of contemporary music – that they'll be stuck in their seats and it'll go on for hours."
So says the man who programmed Morton Feldman's six-hour Second String Quartet.
In non-Minimal news, next season sees the Pavel Haas Quartet complete their three-year Glasgow residency. Brown says he's been delighted with the relationship. "They are a thoughtful and considered bunch, and instead of cantering into a Beethoven cycle they've started with a core Bohemian repertoire of Dvořák and Janáček. Now they're on the threshold." Next May the quartet holds a farewell mini-festival, and while the line-up hasn't been finalised, Brown can reveal that it will be "all about Shostakovich... They are one of the great ensembles," he continues. "In 20 years they will do their Beethoven cycle and it will be awe-inspiring."
Speaking of awe-inspiring, The Piano returns in November with two tremendous veterans of the instrument playing some of the finest mature music ever written: Elisabeth Leonskaja with Schubert's last three sonatas, and Richard Goode with late Beethoven. At the other end of the spectrum, Russian wizkid Daniil Trifonov plays Chopin and Scriabin, while Alasdair Beatson, Alexandre Tharaud and jazzer Dan Tepfer complete what Brown calls a "360-degree look at the piano".
Next April brings a long-awaited Schubert residency from Austrian baritone Florian Boesch and pianist Malcolm Martineau, who tackle the three great song cycles – Die schöne Müllerin, Schwanengesang and Winterreise. Early May retreats to the rich musical pickings of 16th-century Spain, with Hespèrion XXI, the Gabrieli Consort and the legendary Jordi Savall.
There are murmurings that Savall might use the Burrell Collection for an intimate viol recital; watch this space. Also on the early music front, February sees a return visit to Kelvingrove from the Tallis Scholars, who celebrate their 40th birthday with performances of Tallis's spectacular 40-part motet Spem in alium.
Brown points out that with visits from Hespèrion, the Gabrielis, Tallis Scholars, Ars Nova and Theatre of Voices, "what I'm working on toward the Commonwealth Games is a choral agenda. Think in terms of Commonwealth goals: fitness and participation, health benefits, social benefits- Singing has boxes just lining up to be ticked". No prizes for guessing what's heading the 2013-14 season then.
For details of the ongoing Glasgow Music programme, see www.glasgowlife.org.uk/music
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