sound:

north east scotland's festival of new music

press

This section of the sound web site contains press releases as well as reviews of recent events. Clicking on each review highlight below will make the full text of that review available to read, and each box also contains a link to the actual event listing. Reviews for previous festivals are also archived in this website: please visit our 'past festivals' page for more details.

Press contact for further information, images and interviews:

Lesley Booth, tel 07799 414 474,

2010

Aberdeen Sinfonietta

Music Hall, Aberdeen (see event)

The Sound Festival reached a resoundingly exciting conclusion…
(read full article)

16 November 2010

Alan Cooper The Herald

Gigs 4 & 5

Electroacoustic Fair (see event)

… this music has the power to fine tune the ears in an amazing way…
(read full article)

13 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Steve Bingham

at Aberdeen Art Gallery (see event)

Armed to the teeth with acoustic and electric violins, an array of bass and electronic pedals as well as a laptop computer…
(read full article)

13 November 2010

Alan Cooper

University of Aberdeen Choral Society and Symphony Orchestra

at the Music Hall (see event)

… an uplifting performance that was surely a balm for any wounded soul…
(read full article)

11 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Richard Craig and Laura Baxter

at Cowdray Hall (see event)

Richard Craig's relaxed delivery of the long breathed phrases of the opening section promised an exceptional performance and we were not to be disappointed.
(read full article)

11 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Galliard Ensemble

at Cowdray Hall (see event)

The fourth movement in which each player is called upon to give a short cadenza was an opportunity seized by every one of them with vim and verve.
(read full article)

8 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Rautio Piano Trio

Banchory (see event)

I found myself transported from the comfort and warmth of Woodend Barn and far out, onto the stormy ice-laden ocean where the seabirds wheeled and cried, the waves swelled and the winds blew.
(read full article)

7 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Rautio Piano Trio

at Cowdray Hall (see event)

The Rautio Piano Trio offered a bright fresh sounding patina to each of the three pieces they played at Saturday's Lunchbreak Concert…
(read full article)

6 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Primrose Piano Quartet

at Cowdray Hall (see event)

… a splendid musical salve that sent everyone on their way rejoicing and with happy smiles on their faces.
(read full article)

4 November 2010

Alan Cooper

Interview: Colin Currie, virtuoso percussionist

Colin Currie (see biography)

As one of the virtuoso percussionists who have come out from the shadows of the orchestra in recent years, Colin Currie is keen to keep the revolution rolling…
(read full article)

4 November 2010

Kenneth Walton The Scotsman

Edinburgh Quartet

At Kings College Chapel (see event)

This piece certainly had a powerful impact on the student audience, or was it Haydn's Quartet they were cheering so lustily?
(read full article)

4 November 2010

Alan Cooper The Herald

So hard to keep score

Sally Beamish (see biography)

From jazz to traditional music; from contemporary to early music; it's all there. Sally Beamish does the lot. Versatile? I should say so.
(read full article)

3 November 2010

Michael Tumelty The Herald

Sound A New Song

JAM (see event)

… sensational performance of ground-breaking choral music, including four pieces commissioned by JAM…
(read full article)

2 November 2010

Alan Cooper The Herald

Gig review: Madelaine Mitchell and Nigel Clayton

at Cowdray Hall (see event)

… in Mitchell's violin playing the devil was in the detail with the occasional, tiniest hint of traditional Scottish music superbly rendered.
(read full article)

31 October 2010

Neil Jones The Scotsman

A Day With Sally Beamish

There was a happy sense of buzz and excitement as over twenty local string players got ready to give a performance&hellip...
(read full article)

31 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Margaret Preston, Flute

at Aberdeen Art Gallery (see event)

… the audience members who took part were delighted to be able to make their own special contribution to the Sound Festival.
(read full article)

30 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Madeleine Mitchell and Nigel Clayton

at Cowdray Hall (see event)

The audience consensus after Thursday's Lunchbreak Concert presented in association with the Sound Festival was that "the modern pieces were remarkably appealing".
(read full article)

28 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Gig review: The Smith Quartet

Philip Glass Quartets (see event)

This was a unusual opportunity to hear all five quartets performed in one concert. And an unusual pleasure to have them performed so well.
(read full article)

27 October 2010

Neil Jones The Scotsman

New Music Groups

University Tea-Time (see event)

Quality and variety along with the infectious enthusiasm of youth were the hallmarks of Wednesday's Teatime Concert which brought together the New Music Groups of Aberdeen University and Aberdeen College…
(read full article)

27 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Colin Currie Group

Drumming (see event)

As an experience in sound, this was a revelation but it packed a powerful visual punch as well. The players recalled the mechanistic movements of the workers in Fritz Lang's film Metropolis.
(read full article)

26 October 2010

Alan Cooper The Herald

Shona Donaldson traces Huntly's musical routes

Bogie's Bonnie Belle (see event)

Here, with a heartfelt rendition of Adieu Tae Bogieside, Donaldson bids farewell to the bus passengers and to her year in residence. As she sings "my heart will be in Huntly town and sweet old Bogieside", there is no faking the sentiment.
(read full article)

25 October 2010

Marisa Duffy The Herald

Philip Glass Quartets

The Smith Quartet (see event)

The Smith Quartet is one of the finest exponents of this music and many in Sunday's audience had travelled far just to hear them play music that has become a favourite for them.
(read full article)

24 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Double Bill

Community performance + NYOS Futures (see event)

… this was indeed a landmark musical event …
(read full article)

24 October 2010

Alan Cooper

The Smiths In The Art Gallery

The Smith Quartet (see event)

It is always heartening to see organisers rushing to carry more chairs into the auditorium before a concert.
(read full article)

23 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Music review: Red Note Ensemble

Red Note (see event)

The Sound Festival - north-east Scotland's contemporary music festival, now in its sixth year - made a propitious start with an outstanding opening concert by the Red Note Ensemble.
(read full article)

23 October 2010

Neil Jones The Scotsman

Red Note Ensemble, Woodend Barn, Banchory

Red Note (see event)

Red Note's playing built to an astonishing dramatic climax, drawing whoops of approval at the end from younger members of the audience.
(read full article)

22 October 2010

Alan Cooper The Herald

The Smith Quartet at Johnston Hall

The Smith Quartet (see event)

This was an astonishingly fine performance by the Smith Quartet and their electronics expert.
(read full article)

22 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Pure Brass are pure delight at Inverurie Music event

Inverurie Music (see venue)

It is normal in Inverurie Music concerts for performers to share their thoughts about the composers and the music they are about to perform and mix with the audience at interval.
(read full article)

21 October 2010

Inverurie Herald

The Smith Quartet at Cowdray Hall

The Smith Quartet (see event)

For those who think that minimalism "sounds all the same" this concert was a fantastic wake up call.
(read full article)

21 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Graham Fitkin Ensemble

Graham Fitkin Ensemble (see event)

Fitkin always manages to maintain his own distinctive style of composing even when he embraces an amazingly eclectic range of influences… His all-star Ensemble thrilled the audience with a performance that brought wonderful new sounds to more traditional forms.
(read full article)

21 October 2010

Alan Cooper

Festival offers feast of music

Salmon Bothy (see events)

Historic Banffshire buildings are set to resound to the strains of music this autumn as the Salmon Bothy and Duff House present concerts in the 2010 Sound Festival.
(read full article)

19 October 2010

Banffshire Journal

Music Preview: The Sound Festival, Aberdeen

sound 2010 (see events)

… some of the best musicians in the business head north to play music by genre greats such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, John Adams, John Cage and Michael Nyman.
(read full article)

17 October 2010

Susan Nickalls Scotland On Sunday

Less is More: minimalism at heart of 2010 sound Festival

Less is more (see events)

This autumn sees sound joining forces with the Glasgow Concert Halls to offer a Scottish celebration of Minimalism.
(read full article)

15 October 2010

Fred Aberdeen Voice

Rich Sound of a pro-am JAM

sound 2010 (see events)

Once again, Aberdeenshire is bracing itself for its annual jamboree of contemporary music. The whole concept of Sound is extraordinary: around 60 events parcelled into a three-and-a-half-week festival…
(read full article)

14 October 2010

Kenneth Walton The Scotsman

Sounds sensational

sound 2010 (see events)

It seems like there's a different festival taking place every week in Aberdeen at the moment, but one that really stands out from the rest is the Sound Festival.
(read full article)

14 October 2010

Colene McKessick The Press and Journal

Colin Currie drums up support for the Sound festival

sound 2010 (see events)

The young percussionist brings Steve Reich to Aberdeenshire.
(read full article)

11 October 2010

Keith Bruce The Herald

Beyond the premiere

John Armitage Memorial Concerts (see event)

Armitage is delighted to be presenting brand new repertoire to Scottish audiences as well as working for the first time with locally-based musicians.
(read full article)

9 October 2010

Susan Nickalls Classical Music magazine

Sound festival 2010 to bring 18 premieres to north-east Scotland

sound 2010 (see events)

This year's Sound festival will unveil 18 new works as part of a 60-concert series across the north-east of Scotland this autumn.
(read full article)

11 September 2010

Susan Nickalls Classical Music magazine