CLASSICAL

In Sync, Scottish Ensemble, Aberdeen Music Hall, Aberdeen, 2pm & 7pm, today; Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, November 9

Originally seen last year, the Scottish Ensemble in collaboration with MishMash Productions is reprising its family concert aimed at audiences aged from 11 to 99. It’s a chance to get to know the Ensemble players as they introduce themselves, interact with the audience and play from memory. The programme includes the work of contemporary Scottish composer Anna Meredith, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail and, for those seeking some 17th-century thrills, Henry Purcell. No need to dress up, this is a chance to enjoy classical music with none of the usual formality.

Saint-Saens’s Organ Symphony at Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Friday

That said, if you’re seeking the full bells-and-whistles classical experience then the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s take on Saint-Saens in the imposing surroundings of Paisley Abbey should be right up your street. Accompanied by the Choirs of Paisley Abbey, and Edinburgh’s St Giles’ Cathedral and St Mary’s Cathedral, this promises to be a memorable production in a stunning environment. Martyn Brabbins conducts a programme that includes music by Patrick Doyle, Hubert Parry, William Walton and Saint-Saens’s Symphony No 3 in C minor, ‘Organ’. George McPhee, organist and master of the choristers at Paisley Abbey, will also be taking part.

TALK

Grayson Perry: A Show All About You, Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Friday

It’s not enough that the artist Grayson Perry has a huge retrospective exhibition currently on show at the Royal Scottish Academy (it closes on November 12 if you haven’t visited yet). He’s also touring the country discussing the nature of identity and asking the question, what makes you you? After Perth, the show moves to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh next Saturday and finishes the Scottish leg of the tour with a visit to Aberdeen Music Hall a week tomorrow.

BOOK

Hardcore: The Cinematic World of Pulp, Paul Burgess & Louise Colbourne, Thames & Hudson, £40, published Thursday

For anyone wanting to prep for Pulp’s headlining gig in Edinburgh this Hogmanay this sumptuously illustrated hardback is perfect. From the mid to late 1990s Paul Burgess was on hand to document the life and work of the band from their heady Britpop highpoint to the nauseous morning after. Which meant he had the chance to get the inside track on the creation of Pulp’s dark masterpiece This is Hardcore. The result is a visual celebration of one of the highlights of nineties pop.

COMEDY

Eddie Izzard - The Remix, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday to Saturday

Eddie Izzard visits Glasgow with a show that revisits and reimagines some of his most beloved comedy routines. A greatest hits show that, as the title suggests, mixes things up a bit. Which, you might say, is what Izzard has been doing his entire career as a stand-up.