THE renaissance of the rechristened BT Scottish Ensemble continues
with the announcement yesterday of the appointment of young violinist
Clio Gould as its new artistic director.
Ms Gould's appointment coincides with the unveiling of the ensemble's
new logo and publicity style under the #250,000 three-year sponsorship
deal with BT, announced earlier in the year.
The deal, which is BT's largest in Scotland (the telecommunications
company supports Northern Ballet to the tune of #500,000) and one of the
largest agreements in Scottish music, covers all of the 11-strong
orchestra's activity, which includes performances in small venues in the
Highlands and islands as well as concerts in the main cities.
Gould has played with the ensemble over the past two years and first
directed in April during the hiatus that has followed the departure of
former leader Jonathan Rees. Her appointment takes effect on the first
of next month but she will be appearing as a soloist before then,
performing the Scottish premiere of Paul Patterson's Violin Concerto at
Dunblane Cathedral on August 30.
She said yesterday that she had already been consulted on an informal
basis on the artistic programme of the ensemble and everything was now
in place for the development of new ideas.
Her own interests centre particularly on contemporary music. ''The
ensemble used to commission more than any other orchestra in Scotland,
but that has been not so much in evidence recently,'' she said.
''I hope to work more with Scottish composers but continue to play a
wide range of repertoire -- that is the strength of the group,'' she
said.
The baroque roots of the ensemble, although dropped from its name, are
reflected in the band's new logo, drawn by Glasgow's 999 Design Group
from a sculpture by Bernini. The harp-playing cherub might also have
appealed to the ensemble's sponsor for its echoes of BT's horn-playing
logo figure.
The design company has also produced the artwork for publicity
material for the ensemble's new season which uses computer-manipulated
images from seventeenth-century paintings. The marrying of old masters
and new technology is intended to reflect the range of the repertoire.
Managing director Roger Pollen said that the technique will also allow
the company to produce the same quality of publicity for concerts in
Acharacle and Iona as for those in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
The ensemble's winter season includes two major commissions from Sally
Beamish and Dave Heath. The season opens with the premiere of Beamish's
contemporary Concerto Grosso in a bill that also includes one by Handel.
A Tchaikovsky centenary concert, including his Serenade for Strings, is
followed by a Vivaldi programme partnered with Heath's The Four
Elements, a modern answer to Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
The season concludes with a Germanic programme which marks the debut
Scottish tour of young Chilean pianist Alfredo Perl and includes
Mahler's arrangement for string orchestra of Schubert's Death and the
Maiden quartet.
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