Peter Oundjian - succeeding Stéphane Denève as Music Director - leads the new artistic team at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for the 2012-13 Season. The new Principal Guest Conductor is Thomas Søndergård. The season highlights include Shostakovich 11, a two-part American Music Festival, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Sir Andrew Davis, a complete Má vlast with co-commissioned visuals,  Carmina Burana, a season finale gala with a Nicola Benedetti double bill and Walton’s Henry V with a mystery guest actor.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) welcomes British-Canadian conductor Peter Oundjian, who succeeds Stéphane Denève as RSNO Music Director, as it announces its 121^st Season. Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård is welcomed to the RSNO family, as he takes up the specially-revived position of Principal Guest Conductor. He presents three programmes in his first year.   

A central pillar of Peter’s first season is a two-part celebration of transatlantic repertoire, An American Festival. It includes such works as Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, John  Adams’s Harmonilehre and more recent Doctor Atomic Symphony, Copland’s Appalachian Spring and both Barber and Copland’s Piano Concertos. Among the other key highlights of Peter’s season is a concert in which he returns to the first work he performed with the RSNO, ten years ago, Britten’s Four Sea Interludes paired with Brahms’ Symphony No1, Carl Orff’s cantata Carmina Burana with the massed force of the RSNO, its chorus and junior chorus and Smetana’s Má Vlast, with specially-created photo-choreographed projections by award-winning New York artist James Westwater, jointly commissioned in a first collaboration between both of Peter’s Orchestras, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and RSNO. Peter finishes the season with a gala concert with Nicola Benedetti (Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending and Saint-Saëns Introduction and Rondo capriccioso) and Walton’s score for the Oscar-winning film Henry V, with a guest actor.

Thomas Søndergård's first concerts present Sibelius’ Second Symphony with The Garden of Delights by contemporary Swedish composer B Tommy Andersson and a pair of Mahler’s works - the early composition Blumine and first song-cycle, Songs of a Wayfarer. In May, Thomas conducts Stravinsky’s riotous ballet music Petroushka, preceded by Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with fellow Scandinavian Truls Mørk as soloist. Conductor Laureate Neeme Järvi celebrates a forty-five year association with his Scottish orchestra, returning in March for performances of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony, Arensky’s Variation on a theme of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No3, with multiple award-winning recording artist Nikolai Lugansky. 

Season in Full

Season Opener: Oundjian Conducts Shostakovich 

Thu 4 Oct – Music Hall, Aberdeen ∙ Fri 5 Oct – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 6 Oct – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall    
Glinka    Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla  
Tchaikovsky   Violin Concerto  
Shostakovich   Symphony No11 The Year 1905 

Peter Oundjian (conductor) Vadim Gluzman (violin)  

Oundjian Conducts Brahms

Thu 11 Oct – Caird Hall, Dundee ∙ Fri 12 Oct – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 13 Oct – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Britten     Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes 
Rachmaninov   Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 
Brahms    Symphony No1

Peter Oundjian (conductor), Natasha Paremski (piano) 

Thomas Søndergård Conducts Sibelius

Fri 26 Oct – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 27 Oct – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Andersson   The Garden of Delights  
Mahler    Blumine   
Mahler    Songs of a Wayfarer  
Sibelius    Symphony No2

Thomas Søndergård (conductor), Roderick Williams (baritone)

 
Choral Classics: Carmina Burana

Fri 9 Nov – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 10 Nov – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Adès    Dances from Powder Her Face   
Vaughan Williams  Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis  
Orff    Carmina Burana  

Peter Oundjian (conductor), Valentina Farcas (soprano), Daniel Taylor (countertenor) , Audun Iversen (baritone),  
RSNO Chorus, RSNO Junior Chorus 

Naked Classics: Symphonie fantastique 

Thu 15 Nov – Caird Hall, Dundee ∙ Fri 16 Nov – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 17 Nov – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Berlioz    Symphonie fantastique

Thomas Søndergård (conductor), Paul Rissmann (presenter)

Also sprach Zarathustra

Fri 23 Nov – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 24 Nov – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Prokofiev  Selections from Cinderella   
Mozart   Piano Concerto No23 K488  
R. Strauss  Also sprach Zarathustra,

Kazushi Ono (conductor), Saleem Abboud Ashkar (piano) 

A St Andrew’s Party  
 
Fri 30 Nov – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

A St Andrew’s Party    

John Logan (conductor), Phil Cunningham (accordion), Aly Bain (fiddle), National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland

John Lill Plays Grieg

Fri 14 Dec – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 15 Dec – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Larsson   En vintersaga (A Winter’s Tale)  
Grieg   Piano Concerto  
Tchaikovsky  Symphony No 1

Christian Kluxen (conductor), John Lill (piano)  

 
RSNO Christmas Concerts

Wed 19 Dec – Music Hall, Aberdeen ∙ Fri 21 Dec – Caird Hall, Dundee ∙ Sat 22 Dec – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ∙ Sun 23 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh 

Christopher Bell (conductor), RSNO Chorus, RSNO Junior Chorus 

 
Dvořák Eight

Thu 24 Jan – Caird Hall, Dundee ∙ Fri 25 Jan – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 26 Jan – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Borisova-Ollas  Open Ground  
Schumann  Piano Concerto  
Dvořák   Symphony No8  
 
Andrey Boreyko (conductor), Rafał Blechacz (piano) 
 

An American Festival : I

Fri 8 Feb – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 9 Feb – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Bernstein  Overture to Candide 
Gershwin  Concerto in F  
Adams   Harmonielehre 

Peter Oundjian (conductor), Jon Kimura Parker (piano) 
 

Romantic Valentine’s Concert

Thu 14 Feb – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ∙ Fri 15 Feb – Usher Hall, Edinburgh   

R Strauss  Don Juan 
Rachmaninov  Piano Concerto No2  
Tchaikovsky  Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture 
Shostakovich  Romance from The Gadfly 
Ravel   Boléro  
 
Christian Kluxen (conductor), Olga Kern (piano) 
 

Naked Classics: Firebird

Thu 21 Feb – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ∙ Fri 22 Feb – Usher Hall, Edinburgh   

Stravinsky  The Firebird (complete)

Christian Kluxen (conductor), Paul Rissmann (presenter) 

RSNO Chamber Series: Brahms Clarinet Quintet

Sun 17 Feb (2.30pm) –Dovecot Studio, Edinburgh ∙ Sun 24 Feb (2.30pm) – St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow

Brahms    Clarinet Quintet

Beethoven’s Eroica

Thu 28 Feb – Perth Concert Hall ∙   Fri 1 Mar – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 2 Mar – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Beethoven  Leonore Overture No3 
Beethoven  Piano Concerto No3  
Beethoven  Symphony No3 Eroica  

Dima Slobodeniouk (conductor), Rudolf Buchbinder (piano) 

 
Järvi Conducts Tchaikovsky

Fri 15 Mar – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 16 March – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Arensky   Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky 
Prokofiev  Piano Concerto No3  
Tchaikovsky  Manfred Symphony 

Neeme Järvi (conductor), Nikolai Lugansky (piano) 

 
Oundjian Conducts Má vlast

Thu 21 Mar – Perth Concert Hall ∙ Fri 22 Mar – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 23 Mar – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Smetana  Má vlast (complete) 

Peter Oundjian (conductor), James Westwater (photochoreographer)

Handel’s Messiah

Sat 30 Mar – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Handel    Messiah   

Paul Agnew (conductor), RSNO Chorus

Concierto de Aranjuez

Thu 11 Apr – Music Hall, Aberdeen ∙ Fri 12 Apr – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 13 Apr – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Respighi   Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No1  
Rodrigo   Concierto de Aranjuez   
Martucci   Notturno Op70 No1  
Respighi   Roman Festivals

Gilbert Varga (conductor), Miloš Karadaglić (guitar)

RSNO Chamber Series: Strings & Brass Celebration

Sun 14 Apr (2.30pm) –Dovecot Studio, Edinburgh ∙ Sun 21 Apr (2.30pm) – St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow

Includes music from Haydn, Pärt 

An American Festival: II

Fri 26 Apr – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 27 Apr – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 
Copland   Appalachian Spring 
Barber   Piano Concerto 
Copland   Piano Concerto 
Adams   Doctor Atomic Symphony 

Peter Oundjian (conductor), Xiayin Wang (piano) 

Naked Classics: Wagner’s Ring

Thu 9 May – Music Hall, Aberdeen  ∙  Fri 10 May – Usher Hall, Edinburgh  ∙ Sat 11 May – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall   
Wagner/de Vlieger The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure   

Philippe Bach (conductor), Paul Rissmann (presenter)

Choral Classics: Elijah  

Fri 17 May – Usher Hall, Edinburgh  ∙  Sat 18 May – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 

Mendelssohn  Elijah 

Sir Andrew Davis (conductor), Lisa Milne (soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano),  Barry Banks (tenor),  
Hanno Mueller-Brachmann (baritone), RSNO Chorus, RSNO Junior Chorus

Søndergård Conducts Dvořák Cello Concerto  
 
Thu 23 May – Caird Hall, Dundee ∙ Fri 24 May – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 25 May – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Dvořák   Cello Concerto in B Minor 
Stravinsky  Petrouchka (1947)  

Thomas Søndergård (conductor), Truls Mørk (cello) 

 
Season Finale! Oundjian & Benedetti Gala Concert

Fri 31 May – Usher Hall, Edinburgh ∙ Sat 1 Jun – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Ravel   Alborada del gracioso  
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending  
Saint-Saëns  Introduction and Rondo capriccioso  
Walton/ Palmer  Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario  

Peter Oundjian (conductor), Nicola Benedetti (violin), RSNO Chorus, RSNO Junior Chorus

RSNO Chamber Series: Classical Strings

Sun 9 Jun (2.30pm) –Dovecot Studio, Edinburgh ∙ Sun 16 Jun (2.30pm) – St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow

Includes: Wolf’s Italian Serenade and Schubert’s String Quintet in C major