Orchestra off to flying start

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra kicks off its new season in Aberdeen tonight under the baton of its effervescent musical director, Stéphane Denève. Caroline Brodie found out more

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IT IS three years since French conductor Stéphane Denève took the helm at Scotland’s national orchestra and things have been on the up and up ever since.

Tonight, the Aberdeen audience can sit back and enjoy a grand opening to his fourth season when the acclaimed conductor leads the orchestra in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

Stéphane, who confesses to being fascinated by Mahler, and has already performed the Austrian composer’s first four symphonies with the RSNO, is looking forward to continuing this acclaimed cycle with Mahler’s most popular work.

He said: “It is such a monumental piece. It’s so big and so long and I think it’s a great way to start a season.

“He was a great, great conductor and it is fantastic to be able to follow his life.”

Like Mahler, who conducted his masterpieces in a little summer house in rural Austria, Stéphane goes to his own retreat 250 miles north of Stockholm to learn the scores.

“It is a little retreat with a wood; a natural retreat before I face the big season,” he said.

“It is a very nice thing to work here and to feel the Mahler music as well. It is a good way to be inspired.

“I find his symphonies fascinating because every Mahler symphony is a world in itself.”

Also on tonight’s programme are Wagner’s Overture to The Flying Dutchman and Szymanowski’s Sinfonia Concertante, with guest pianist Piotr Anderszewski.

Stéphane said: “I love the Aberdeen hall and when we take our programme to Aberdeen I always dream of how it will sound there.

“I am very excited, for instance, to hear The Flying Dutchman there. There will be this big wave of sound from Wagner and I’m looking forward to hearing that. It has really special acoustics and Piotr Anderszewski told me Aberdeen is one of his favourite halls in the world. He is very happy to go to Aberdeen because he loves it there.”

Stéphane said the orchestra had strong links with the north-east, thanks to a sponsorship deal with oil company Total E&P UK which has made it possible for RSNO musicians to visit more than 30 of the region’s schools in the past year to help nurture a new generation of Scots talent.

The company also sponsors the Total Denève Series.

Speaking about his decision to accept the post as musical director of the RSNO and move from his native France to Glasgow, Stéphane said: “When I conducted them as a guest conductor, I just loved them.

“They could have been anywhere in the world and I would have taken the job. As a conductor, what you want to do is to produce the best music with the best musicians, so I decided to commit to them.”

Other highlights at Aberdeen’s Music Hall this season include a night of Mozart on November 6, the annual RSNO Christmas concert on December 17, and the return of Jacqui Dankworth with the RSNO Big Band on December 21. The season will draw to a close with Brahms’ Second Symphony on May 14, and there will be a UK premiere of Kurt Schwertsik’s new Divertimento Macchiato for Trumpet with the world’s best-known trumpet soloist, Håkan Hardenberger, on April 23.

Stéphane said he always tried to offer as wide a programme as possible.

“I think it is very important to offer a lot of different types of music,” he said. “Always what I want to do is offer a bouquet with a lot of different flowers.

“What I try to do as well is to choose music that people won’t know – like the Szymanowski in the opening concert. It is a very rare piece and the soloist is just the best player.

“It’s a very strong piece that not many people know, but I would like to bring those less-well-known pieces to them.”

There are also a few treats in store for music fans at Dundee’s Caird Hall.

Stéphane said: “I always think what a pleasure it is to go to this wonderful place. We have a different programme going there and I am very excited to do some of the music of Richard Strauss. It is the perfect romantic hall for this romantic music.”

The Caird Hall season opens on Wednesday with Inspiring Romantics, an evening of music by Strauss and Beethoven. Other highlights will be appearances by conductors Neeme Järvi and Alexander Lazarev, and soloists Paul Lewis, Vadim Gluzman and Alexandra Soumm.

There will also be an evening of music inspired by the French capital with music by Mozart and Offenbach played by pianists Frank Braley and Eric Le Sage.

A Flying Start: Denève Conducts Mahler 5 is at the Music Hall in Aberdeen tonight at 7.30pm. For tickets and more information visit www.rsno.org.uk or call 01224 641122. Tickets for the Caird Hall concerts are also available online or by calling 01382 434940.