Scotland’s only 5-star concert venue, Edinburgh’s iconic Usher Hall, is proud to announce the 2022-23 programme for its celebrated Sunday Classics season.
Beginning this weekend, the new series of Sunday Classics will showcase the very best of global orchestras and soloists. From Belgium to Sweden, Iceland to Armenia, and beyond, this series spanning seven months and concluding in May 2022, will take audiences on a musical journey unlike any other.
Tickets for all performances are available through Usher Hall's website.
The series begins on Sunday 9 October with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra from the Czech Republic taking to the stage. Renowned cellist, Laura van der Heijden, will perform Martinů’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and the concert concludes with Dvořak’s ‘New World’ Symphony.
This will be followed in November by globally lauded soloist Paul Lewis with conductor Roberto González-Monjas overseeing the Belgian National Orchestra. The performance will begin with Ottorino Respighi’s noble Preludio, corale e fuga, followed by Piano Concerto No. 25, the grandest of Mozart’s piano concertos, before finishing with a spellbinding symphony - the insurmountable Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony.
Later that month Maxim Vengerov, one of the world’s greatest contemporary violinists, joins the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Filarmonica Brasov in not one, but two concertos – composed a century apart. The excellent conductor for the performance is Sergey Smbatyan from Armenia. The afternoon will open with Sibelius’s masterful Karelia Suite and Shor’s newly commissioned Symphonic Prelude, followed by Seascapes for Violin and Symphony Orchestra. Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto will be played after the interval before ending with Tchaikovsky’s hauntingly evocative Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.
Looking ahead to February, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra will grace the Usher Hall, again with conductor Sergey Smbatyan overseeing proceedings. This concert will feature arguably the nation’s greatest composer, Aram Khachaturian, with music from his most popular work, the rhythmic suite from the ballet Spartacus. Jennifer Pike, one of the most talented violinists of the day, will perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, and the concert will finish with Tchaikovsky’s epic and popular Fourth Symphony.
In March, as Edinburgh moves into Spring, the Swedish Philharmonia returns to Usher Hall with the inimitable Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulović. Conducted by Jaime Martin, the performance will begin with Bo Linde A Merry Overture before moving into Khachaturian Violin Concerto and finishing with the enduringly popular Sibelius Symphony No. 2.
The penultimate show of the run in April showcases the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, with the distinguished company of British pianist Sir Stephen Hough. The session will begin with music from Iceland’s own Thorvaldsdottir, followed by Rachmaninov’s deeply poignant Piano Concerto No. 2 and concluding with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, one of the most powerful symphonies ever created.
To conclude this season’s programme in May, the Estonian National Symphony, led by conductor Olari Elts will regale Usher Hall. The performance will begin with the eulogistic Benjamin Britten Cantus in Memoriam, followed by Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by the peerless pianist Freddy Kempf, and finishing with the evergreen Dvorak Symphony No. 9 New World.
Councillor Val Walker, Culture and Communities Convener said:
I am delighted that the Sunday Classics programme is returning for the 2022-23 season. There can be no better location to experience a live classical performance than the world-famous Usher Hall. Designed and built with a view to bring classical music to Scotland’s Capital, this venue has been a bastion of our musical culture for over a century. I am proud that the tradition of concert-going at Edinburgh’s most stunning indoor venue continues as strongly as ever.
It’s a genuine pleasure to sit back in the impressive auditorium and lose yourself in the music, and this new Sunday Classics series will feature first-class orchestras from around the world outside the usual Festival period. This series reinforces Edinburgh’s status as a global musical centre and status as a year-long cultural destination. Plus, with special rates for students and those out of work, and free tickets for under 16s, the Usher Hall is helping to make classical music accessible to all.