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• Donald Runnicles launches the season with the Scottish premiere of James MacMillan's St John Passion
• A complete cycle of Prokofiev Piano Concertos with Denis Kozhukhin
• Andrew Manze begins a Vaughan Williams Symphony Cycle
• Presenting a musical snapshot of The Year 1911
• Six concert series at the Music Hall in Aberdeen, and three concerts at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh
• Guest artists including Karen Cargill, Steven Isserlis, Vilde Frang, Jennifer Larmore, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers and the London Symphony Chorus
• A weekend celebrating the music of Bernard Herrmann including a screening of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, with live orchestral accompaniment

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2011-12 season, presenting a hugely ambitious and wide ranging season of concerts and broadcasts.

In addition to Chief Conductor Donald Runnicles, the season features many performances from the orchestra’s other titled conductors, Principal Guest Conductor, Ilan Volkov, Associate Guest Conductor, Andrew Manze and Artist-in-Association, Matthias Pintscher.

The orchestra is delighted to welcome distinguished artists including violinist Vilde Frang, cellists Steven Isserlis and Alban Gerhardt, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore, conductors Ludovic Morlot and Josep Pons, the London Symphony Chorus, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.

The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO's home base at Glasgow City Halls sits at the heart of the orchestra's most significant projects, most notably major explorations of the turbulent musical landscape of 1911, the music of Prokofiev, through the complete cycle of piano concertos, the cycle of Vaughan Williams symphonies, and the exploration of new music.

Chief Conductor Donald Runnicles said: "The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra has been part of my life for a very long time. When growing up in Edinburgh, I was very much aware of the orchestra because of its presence on the radio. Now, as I embark on my third season as Chief Conductor, I'm thrilled to experience what a profound role this wonderful orchestra plays in the lives of its audiences, both in the concert hall and on-air. With our esteemed guest conductors, with Ilan, with Andrew, with Matthias, we're part of a family and that's where the orchestra itself picks up on the fact that we're all in this together This is a good team, a confluence of people who get on well and share the same dream, and for me, I will never take that for granted."

Roger Wright, Controller ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 and Director ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Proms, said: "I think there something particularly distinctive about the work of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra, which at its heart is about the relationships it has with particular artists. The appointment of Donald Runnicles to the senior position with the orchestra was a really vital next stage in the orchestra's artistic development, and the success of the partnership, already seen and heard, is I think one of the great stories in British music of recent years."

MacMillan's St John Passion
The season opens in Glasgow on Thursday 29 September 2011 with a major work by Scotland's foremost living composer. Three years after its first acclaimed performances in London, James MacMillan's St John Passion will be presented under the baton of one of the composer's greatest international champions, Donald Runnicles. Finnish baritone and 2003 Cardiff Singer of the World, Tommi Hakala, sings the powerfully dramatic role of Christus, and two of Britain's finest choirs join this all-star line-up, the London Symphony Chorus and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Singers.

Donald Runnicles said: "The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO enjoys an extraordinary reputation for its commitment to and performance of modern music… a vital part of this orchestra's mandate. We must be committed to music where we ourselves can never be sure what people will be listening to in 50, 75 years time. I am excited that we are bringing the St John Passion to Scotland for its Scottish premiere."

James MacMillan said: "Donald Runnicles has performed many of my works, in the States and elsewhere, and he's an incredibly insightful interpreter of my music. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra has been such an important orchestra to me over the last 20 years and has been involved in the performance of many of my most important works."

Complete cycle of Prokofiev piano concertos
Prokofiev was only 20 years old in 1911 when he premiered his first concerto, one of the greatest cycles of pieces for solo performer and orchestra. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO presents the entire cycle, performed by the brilliant 25 year-old Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin winner of the 2010 Queen Elisabeth piano competition in Brussels.

Manze conducts Vaughan Williams – the complete symphonies
Over the next few seasons, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO will perform a complete cycle of all nine of Vaughan Williams Symphonies, under the baton of Associate Guest Conductor Andrew Manze. Andrew Manze said: "This is a very exciting project for me. Vaughan Williams is one of those composers some people have fixed ideas about - who he is and what he does. If you come and hear our cycle, you'll find every symphony is completely different I'm on a bit of a mission to rehabilitate him in people's minds as an important figure in the music making of this country."

The Year 1911
1911 was a year of huge change throughout the world and a period of varied and astonishing musical creativity. A century on, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO presents a snapshot of that fascinating year. The series includes concert performances Bartok's one-act opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle and highlights from Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier with an all-star international cast. The radical vision of two young Russians is represented by Stravinsky's Petrushka and Prokofiev's First Piano Concerto. The huge diversity of music from the year also includes Nielsen's Violin Concerto, George Butterworth's Two English Idylls, Debussy's The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian and Sibelius's Rakastava and Fourth Symphony.

The heart of the cello
The 11-12 season includes a focus on music written for cello and orchestra with works by Dvorak, Britten, Villa-Lobos, Debussy, Ravel and others, and arrangements by Sally Beamish and Steven Isserlis. The series will also include the debut of the orchestras recently appointed Principal Cello, Martin Storey as soloist in Osvaldo Golijov's Mariel and Haydn's Cello Concerto in C.

Donald Runnicles weekend
Glasgow Music, the body which runs Glasgow's Concert Halls, celebrates Donald Runnicles' association with the city by inviting him to use the halls as he wishes and, by asking some of his favourite musicians to take part. Full details are still to be announced, but the Donald Runnicles Weekend will include a Sunday night recital, and will close with a performance of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony.

Bernard Herrmann centenary
The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO is increasingly renowned for its sophisticated interpretations of classic film scores, and this season it celebrates the centenary of one of Hollywood's greatest composers Bernard Herrmann with two concerts in City Halls conducted by John Wilson, the UK's foremost advocate of film music. Beginning with a complete screening of Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO accompanies the film with a live performance of Herrmann's famous score. The following afternoon, the orchestra presents Music To Be Murdered By, a concert of music from Herrmann's scores from other thrillers including Vertigo, North By Northwest and Taxi Driver. The orchestra will also present Christmas At The Movies, its hugely popular seasonal film programme.

New music
Recognised as one of the world's foremost contemporary music ensembles, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO continues its support for new music. As well as the Scottish Premiere of James MacMillan's St John Passion, the Glasgow concert season also includes world premieres from the orchestra's Artist-in-Association Matthias Pintscher, German composer Detlev Glanert, and Scottish premieres of music by Julian Anderson and Osvaldo Golijov. The popular Saturday night contemporary music series at Glasgow City Halls Hear And Now continues with works by Lyell Cresswell and Richard Ayres, and will include an excerpt from Cornelius Cardew's Great Learning. Associate Guest Conductor Andrew Manze will also conduct a programme of new music from Scandinavia during the orchestra's open weekend in June 2011.

Edinburgh International Festival 2011
The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO continues its long association with the Edinburgh International Festival with two performances at the Usher Hall. Ilan Volkov conducts a triptych of award-winning works written especially for him and the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO by the orchestr'’s former Composer in Association, Jonathan Harvey. Renowned for his interpretations of the late Romantic repertoire, Donald Runnicles conducts Mahler's Symphony No.2 featuring the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill.

Across Scotland
The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra will present a full season of six concerts at the Music Hall in Aberdeen, with Donald Runnicles leading three of the orchestra's programmes. As well as appearances at the Edinburgh International Festival, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO and Donald Runnicles perform three distinctive concerts in the Usher Hall with singers Michaela Kaune, Jennfier Larmore and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. The orchestra will also perform in Ayr, Inverness and Haddington, in other venues across the United Kingdom as well as at the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Proms in London.

Outreach
The orchestra continues its important partnership role in the development of Stirling's Big Noise Project, Scotland's innovative engine for social change through music. Musicians from the orchestra will continue to "buddy" young musicians within the scheme, and the orchestra is increasingly active as a performance partner with the project. It maintains its close association with the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, working over a variety of disciplines with conductors, soloists and orchestral players, and it continues to promote the community orchestra based at Glasgow City Halls, the Merchant Sinfonia.

Broadcasts
The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO continues to be an integral part of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland's output, contributing many programmes, including live broadcasts during afternoons and evenings, on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3 and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Scotland. Concerts from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Proms will be broadcast on Radio 3 and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Four. The orchestra will also continue its "Concert Visualisations", where selected performances in the season will be filmed and made available for audiences to enjoy online via the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iPlayer.

Full details of the new season can be found in the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ SSO Season 11/12 Brochure (PDF).

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