The Last Post - St Magnus Festival17 Pre-concert talk – The Iris Murder 19.00 Orkney Theatre 10 18 The Iris Murder 20.00 Orkney Theatre 10 19 Organ, Choir and Pipes 22.00 St Magnus

A slightly longer Festival this yearincludes performers who havelongstanding relationships withus and those for whom thiswill be their first visit to Orkney.As well as the Festival’s ownbirthday, we celebrate 25 yearsof both the Hebrides Ensembleand Florilegium, local folk duoSaltfishforty at 40, the 60thbirthday of composer SallyBeamish and significantanniversaries of Shakespeareand the Battle of Jutland.

One sad commemoration, butwe hope also celebration, willbe many performances to markthe life and work of the Festival’sfounder, Peter Maxwell Davies,who we lost recently. The festivalitself is testament to Max butmany of this year’s concertsare suffused with his music.

When I began work as ArtisticDirector, I thought that we shouldstart the process to raise moneyfor a new piano and I’mdelighted to say that we can lookforward to several concertsthis year which will inauguratethe brand new instrument. Thefact that we have bought anew piano is a testament to thegenerosity of many funders,patrons and friends who havecontributed along the way.Pianists Samson Tsoy, PavelKolesnikov and Alexei Volodinwill all bring the piano to thecentre of things in recital andAlexei Volodin will also jointhe BBC Symphony Orchestrafor Rachmaninov’s PianoConcerto No. 2. 2016 is acommemoration year for theBattle of Jutland and this willbe marked by a very specialJohnsmas Foy created for thisanniversary and a performanceof Songs of the Fleet bySt Magnus Festival Chorus.

We’ve also commissioned a newwork The Last Post which will beperformed in the Ness Batteryand is a concert/ installationwhich promises to be a movingtribute to anyone who foughtin both world wars.

As ever, there is much localtalent on display, from theperformers young and not soyoung of Orkney TraditionalMusic Project to the performersof the Johnsmas Foy, the splendidchoristers of St Magnus FestivalChorus and local youngmusicians from Glaitness Schooljoining with musicians fromCaithness in a very specialproject Hear My Music.

MagFest will take over thePickaquoy Centre to stage thespectacular Biggest MarionetteCircus in the World brought tous direct from Poland and fillingthe first weekend of the Festivalwith a magical show for all ages.

We hope that you’ll join us tomark this significant birthday,to celebrate our first 40 yearsand to remember Max.

It’s my pleasure to bring you the programmefor the 40th St Magnus International Festivaland to invite you to join in the birthdaycelebrations over the midsummer nights in June.

Alasdair NicolsonArtistic Director

St MagnusInternational Festival

is supported by

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THURSDAY 16 JUNE1 Hansel and Gretel 19.30 Orkney Theatre 2

FRIDAY 17 JUNE2 Danish Sinfonietta 19.30 St Magnus Cathedral 33 The Biggest Marionette Circus 20.00 Pickaquoy Arena 4

Artist TBC 22.00 Festival Club 4

SATURDAY 18 JUNE4 OTMP 10.30 King Street Halls 55 Hansel and Gretel 14.00 Orkney Theatre 56 The Biggest Marionette Circus 14.00 Pickaquoy Arena 57 Hear My Music 15.00 King Street Halls 58 Johnsmas Foy 17.00 Stromness Town Hall 69 Saltfishforty and Friends 20.00 St Magnus Cathedral 610 The Biggest Marionette Circus 20.00 Pickaquoy Arena 6

The Polkadots 22.00 Festival Club 6

SUNDAY 19 JUNEFestival Service 11.15 St Magnus Cathedral 7

11 Remembering 40 years 14.00 Stromness Town Hall 712 The Last Post 17.00 Ness Battery 713 Hansel and Gretel 19.30 Orkney Theatre 814 The Last Post 20.00 Ness Battery 815 Orkney Camerata 22.00 St Magnus Cathedral 8

Jo Philby and Friends 22.00 Festival Club 8

MONDAY 20 JUNE16 Danish Sinfonietta 13.00 St Magnus Cathedral 9

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland& Sanday School pupils 19.00 Sanday Community School 9

17 Pre-concert talk – The Iris Murder 19.00 Orkney Theatre 1018 The Iris Murder 20.00 Orkney Theatre 1019 Organ, Choir and Pipes 22.00 St Magnus Cathedral 11

TUESDAY 21 JUNE20 Danish Sinfonietta – conducting for kids 10.00 Orkney Theatre 1321 Samson Tsoy & Pavel Kolesnikov 13.00 St Magnus Cathedral 1322 Stockholm Chamber Brass 15.15 St Peter’s Kirk, Sandwick 1423 BBC Music Matters 18.00 King Street Halls 1424 Dido and Aeneas 20.00 St Magnus Cathedral 15

WEDNESDAY 22 JUNE25 John Gallas 11.00 Orkney Theatre 1526 Stockholm Chamber Brass 13.00 St Magnus Cathedral 16

Romeo + Juliet 14.30 New Phoenix Cinema 1627 BBC Symphony Orchestra 19.00 Pickaquoy Arena 2228 Voces8 22.00 St Magnus Cathedral 23

THURSDAY 23 JUNE29 Bessy the Bass 10.30 Stromness Town Hall 2430 Florilegium 13.00 St Magnus Cathedral 2431 Johnsmas Foy 18.00 King Street Halls 2432 Hebrides Ensemble 19.30 St Magnus Cathedral 25

FRIDAY 24 JUNEShine 14.30 New Phoenix Cinema 27

33 BBC SO – Unwrappped 18.00 Pickaquoy Arena 27Sirocco Winds 20.00 The Space, Rousay 28

34 Alexei Volodin 20.00 St Magnus Cathedral 29Gnoss 22.00 Festival Club 29

SATURDAY 25 JUNE35 John Gallas 11.00 Stromness Parish Church 3036 Excursion 11.00 Woodwick House 3037 BBC SO & St Magnus Festival Chorus 19.30 Pickaquoy Arena 32

Morag Brown & Lewis Powell-Reid 22.00 Festival Club 32

SUNDAY 26 JUNE38 Myrthen 14.00 Stromness Town Hall 33

Cameron’s Dowell’s KGB 22.00 Festival Club 33

No. Event Time Venue Page

1.HANSEL AND GRETELGala Opera Night

19.30 Orkney Theatre, Kirkwall

Charles Peebles ConductorKally Lloyd-Jones DirectorJanis Hart Designer

Soloists and Orchestra of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Frustrated with the family’s lack of food and angry with the highspirits of her son and daughter, Hansel and Gretel’s mother sendsthe brother and sister off to the forest to look for wild strawberries.Until her husband arrives home with lots of food and in high spiritsshe has forgotten how dangerous the forest might be. Wanderingfurther and further Hansel and Gretel become lost, are sent tosleep by the Sandman and woken by the Dew Fairy, find a wonderfulgingerbread house which they start to eat and are trapped by awitch who wants to cook Gretel in the oven. Will it all end ‘happilyever after’ or will Gretel be turned into gingerbread?

Humperdinck’s operatic re-telling of the old fairytale is a timelessclassic with beautiful and memorable music. This production hasbeen created especially for the Festival with students from the RoyalConservatoire of Scotland and forms part of their residence at thisyear’s Festival.

TWO FURTHER PERFORMANCESSaturday 18th June 14.00Sunday 19th June 19.30

Approximately 2 hours 30 minsTickets £25Ticket includes a glass of wine 22.00 – 01:00

The Girnel, Kirkwall

Open for drinks only

Free Admision

The Girnel is not built to modernstandards and includes stairs.Please contact the Festival office if youhave special access requirements.

2

Thursday

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2.DANISH SINFONIETTARanders Kammerorkester

19.30 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

David Riddell ConductorBrit-Tone Müllertz Soprano

Gustav Helsted Decet Op.18Mogens Christensen New Work Richard Wagner Wesendonck Lieder(arr. Tarkmann)

Helsted’s Decet has only recently been ‘re-discovered’ and isa jewel within the repertoire for mixed wind and string quintet.A Danish composer roughly contemporary with Puccini, Helsted’smusic is rich, romantic and beautifully colourful. The romantic threadcontinues in this programme with Wagner’s timeless settings ofMathilde Wesendonck’s poems whose dark longing and searchingromanticism are seen as studies for his opera Tristan und Isolde.As part of the Festival’s 40 premières we have a new work fromMogens Christensen, one of Denmark’s younger composersand former composer in residence with the orchestra.

The Danish Sinfonietta (Randers Kammerorkester) was establishedin 1945 and is Denmark’s only full-time chamber orchestra. Undertheir Scottish conductor, David Riddell, they have given performancesall over the world and, after a highly successful appearance at the2013 Festival we are delighted to welcome them back.

Approximately 2 hoursTickets £25, £17, £10Concessions £19, £13, £8

WorldPremière

BritishPremière

Friday

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3.THE BIGGEST MARIONETTE CIRCUSIN THE WORLDTeatr Klinika Lalek

20.00 Pickaquoy Arena, Kirkwall

Wiktor Wiktorczyk Writer/DirectorZbigniew Roszkowski DesignerAntoni Gralak Music

Life-sized elephant, giraffe and lion marionettes come to Orkneyin this breathtaking puppetry show to delight all ages. Createdby Poland’s finest puppeteers, this spectacular performance is acircus without animals featuring life-size marionettes operated bynine puppeteers. The beautiful Giraffe is a sensitive diva who isin love with her tamer and she’ll sing about her love for nature;the Lion knows how to roar and wants to devour the tamer but willlearn how to be brave instead; and then there’s the Elephant, amaster of the trombone and flying, and seven tons of pure happiness.

They are joined by tamers, strongmen, acrobats and clownswho transport you to another world of make believe, wonderand pure entertainment. Klinika Lalek combine a rich circus traditionwith cutting-edge puppet technology, virtuoso performers andincredibly life-like puppets in a show that was a big hit at theEdinburgh Fringe 2015.

TWO FURTHER PERFORMANCESSaturday 18th June 14.00Saturday 19th June 20.00

Approximately 70 minutesTickets £20 Concessions £15Family Ticket for two adults and two children £50

MagFest

22.00 The Girnel, Kirkwall

ARTIST TBCLook out for posters duringthe Festival for artists

Festival Club tickets £7 at dooror £25 season ticket fromthe Festival office in advance

Sponsored byHighland Parkwith a free dram forevery ticket holder


5.HANSEL AND GRETELOpera


Second PerformanceSee Event 1 for detailsTickets £20 Concessions £15

6.THE BIGGEST MARIONETTE CIRCUSIN THE WORLD14.00 Pickaquoy Arena, Kirkwall

Second PerformanceSee Event 3 for details

7.HEAR MY MUSICShared Stories Through Music

15.00 King Street Halls, Kirkwall

Caithness Junior OrchestraGlaitness SchoolLed by Clea Friend and Emily Carr-Martin

Shared Stories Through Music is a music project for young peopleliving in Caithness and Orkney who have complex needs and/orautism spectrum disorder. The young people have worked withpractitioners from Hear My Music to develop a piece of music thatis scored for the Caithness Junior Orchestra and participants fromGlaitness School, Orkney. The final work also includes film andhas been developed through individual and group music sessions.

As an organisation, Hear My Music works throughout Scotlandusing music to break down barriers for people who find language,communication and social interaction a challenge.

Approximately one hourTickets £8 Concessions £6

5

4.ORKNEYTRADITIONALMUSIC PROJECTCoffee Concert

10.30 King Street Halls,Kirkwall

An opportunity to sit back foran hour while you listen tosome fine tunes presented by thewonderful instrumentalists ofOrkney Traditional Music Project.

OTMP was formed over 18years ago to revive and maintainthe teaching of traditional musicfor accordion and fiddle in theOrkney Islands. Approximately90 children and adultsparticipate in the weekly tuitionon offer, and anyone with aninterest in music can take part.There has always been anabundance of musical talent inthe islands, with tunes passingon from one generations to thenext, and this talent wasrecognised in 2010 when theProject won an award at the MGAlba Scots Trad Music Awards.

Approximately 1 hourTickets £11 Concessions £8Ticket includes light refreshments

Saturday

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10.THE BIGGESTMARIONETTECIRCUS INTHE WORLD20.00 Pickaquoy Arena,Kirkwall

Third PerformanceSee Event 3 for details

8.JOHNSMAS FOYThe Hampshire

17.00 Stromness Town Hall, Stromness

Pam Beasant WriterIssy Grieve DirectorKristan Harvey and Sarah Jane Gibbon Music

2016 sees the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Hampshirewhilst sailing towards Russia with Lord Kitchener on boardafter the Battle of Jutland. A combination of words and music,this year’s Johnsmas Foy commemorates those who lost theirlives on the Hampshire when it sank off Orkney on 5th July 1916.Using key accounts of the incident Pam Beasant has drawn togethera fitting tribute with music and songs from Sarah Jane Gibbonand Kristan Harvey.

Approximately 70 minutesTickets £10 Concessions £8

MagFest


THE POLKADOTSThe Festival Club regularsplay swing, lounge jazz anda bit of rock ‘n’ roll.




9.SALTFISHFORTYAND FRIENDS20.00 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

Like the Festival, Douglas Montgomery and Brian Cromartyare 40 this year and both performers have been involvedwith St Magnus Festival for much of its and their lifetimes.To mark these anniversaries they present a concert of oldfavourites and new material.

Approximately 1 hour 30 minsTickets £20, £17, £10 Concessions £15, £13, £8

Supported byWW100 Scotland

7

Event 1420.00 Ness Battery, StromnessBuses depart 19.15Concert starts 20.00

12 & 14THE LAST POST

Event 1217.00 Ness Battery, StromnessBuses depart 16.15 Concert starts 17.00

Tom Poulson TrumpetAlistair MacDonald ComposerSusan Worsfold Director

During the latter stages of World War II, Dennis Marshall wrotea series of letters to his fiancée, tracing his journey as a Signallerin the 30 Corps of the British Army. These letters describe hisexperiences and offer a very personal insight into his thoughtsand feelings, and a human connection to the events of the time.

Dennis’ grandson, musician Tom Poulson along with AlistairMacDonald and Susan Worsfold, explore these letters in anextraordinary new work that brings together the words from theseletters with new music for trumpet and live electronics, reflectingon the times, technology and sounds of the era in an immersiveperformance. This work has been specially commissioned as partof the 40th anniversary premieres by St Magnus InternationalFestival. The performance takes place in the unusual Mess Hallat Ness Battery, a military compound on the outskirts of Stromnessoverlooking Hoy Sound.

Event 12 – Buses depart Old Academy Car Park,Stromness 16.15 arriving back approximately 18.45

Event 14 – Buses depart Old Academy Car Park,Stromness 19.15 arriving back approximately 21.45


Ticket includes return shuttle bus as thereis no parking at Ness Battery.Supported through the St Magnus Angels Fund.

Ness Battery is not built to modern standards.Please contact the Festival office if you havespecial access requirements.

WorldPremière

FESTIVALSERVICE11.15 St Magnus Cathedral,Kirkwall

The service is led byRev. Fraser Macnaughton withthe St Magnus Cathedral Choir

Michael Bell Joint ChoirmasterIain Campbell Joint ChoirmasterHeather Rendall Organist

Members of the Danish Sinfonietta(Randers Kammerorkester)and RCS Voices will performbefore and during the service.

11.REMEMBERING40 YEARSRound Table

14.00 Stromness Town Hall,Stromness

Chaired and presented byKenneth Walton

KenWalton, classical musiccolumnist and critic for TheScotsman, leads this round tablediscussion reflecting on StMagnus Festival past, presentand future. It’s an opportunityto remember some of the events,artists and interesting talesspanning 40 years of midsummerevents. He is joined by somewell-known faces from theFestival’s history including GlenysHughes, Ron Ferguson and PamBeasant.

Approximately 1 hourTickets £8 Concessions £6

Sunday

19

8

13.HANSEL ANDGRETELOpera


Third PerformanceSee Event 1 for detailsTickets £20 Concessions £15

14.THE LASTPOST20.00 Ness Battery, Stromness

Second PerformanceSee Event 12 for details

15.MEDITATIONSOrkney Camerata


Elizabeth Sullivan Artistic Director

Sulkhan Tsintsadze MiniaturesSheena Phillips Night AirsKomitas Music for StringsBartok Romanian DancesAndra Patterson The world was all before themArvo Pärt Cantus After Benjamin BrittenMaxwell Davies 4 Sanday Tunes

Orkney Camerata presents a late-night event with music muchof which is mystical and spiritual. Eastern Europe is representedby the unique musical character of the Armenian composer(and priest) Komitas alongside the folk music-inspired works of theHungarian composer Bartok and Georgian composer Tsintzadze.The music of Pärt has become universally recognised but here theEstonian composer pays tribute to Britten in a dark and movingcommemoration. Two new works specially created for the 40thanniversary of the Festival complete the programme alongsidemusic very close to home by the Festival’s founder.

Orkney’s own chamber orchestra draws together local musiciansand has been performing since 1994 working on occasion alongsideother local groups such as the Mayfield Singers, the Winter Choirand St Magnus Festival chorus.

Approximately 70 minutesTickets £17, £14, £10 Concessions £13, £11, £8

WorldPremière

WorldPremière


JO PHILBYAND FRIENDSA Club regular the Orkney-basedsinger has strong folk rootswith influences of Americanand Country music.




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MUSICIANS FROMTHE ROYAL CONSERVATOIREOF SCOTLAND WITH SANDAYCOMMUNITY SCHOOLFestival on Tour

19.00 Sanday Community School

Glenys Hughes Conductor

Maxwell Davies Wendy’s Wedding Music

and a selection of string music from the RCS Performers

Musicians from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland join pupilsfrom Sanday Community School and their string instructors inthe world première of music specially written to celebrate thewedding of Wendy Bowen, the school's head teacher.

The rest of the concert will include string music played by studentsfrom the RCS.

Approximately 1 hourTickets £6 Children £1

Festival on Tour is sponsored byWood Group PSN

WorldPremière

Monday

2016.DANISH SINFONIETTARanders Kammerorkester


David Riddell Conductor

Carl Nielsen Little Suite for Strings Op. 1Anders Nordentoft City of ThreadsFranz Schubert Fantasie in F minor D.940(arr. Allan Gravgaard Madsen)

Nielsen’s Little Suite is a charming early work filled with beautifullycrafted music including the classic waltz middle movement.Nordentoft is one of the younger Danish composers and this workspins urban landscapes and still city soundscapes from whichbackdrop emerge simple melodies. The programme ends witha brilliant arrangement of Schubert’s lyrical and dramatic pianoduet that transforms the original piano score into orchestral texturesalmost as if the composer himself had planned it.

Approximately 1 hourTickets £20, £15, £10 Concessions £15, £11, £8

10

18.THE IRIS MURDERHebrides Ensemble


Alasdair Nicolson MusicJohn Gallas Libretto

Iris Elizabeth LlewellynRawley Beaunes Christopher BowenThe Green Man Andrew Fellowes

Director Martin ConstantineMusical Director Will ConwayDesigner Gabriella SladeLighting Designer Mark Doubleday

Rawley Beaunes is revisiting the woods, as he often does, with abunch of cheap flowers, throwing them on strange mounds of earth.Suddenly he encounters Iris and, in a fit of anger, knocks her headoff and leaves. Thinking nothing of it he settles at home on his 42ndbirthday night to reflect upon his achievements. But the Green Mancomes calling and summons Beaunes to a trial for the murder ofIris, Poppy, Heather, Fern, Rose...As punishment he is forced to seethe world in all its depravity, selfishness and darkness before beingreturned to normal life. New Year comes, he is ready for his new‘date’ and another trip to the woods, but there he encounters Iris(masquerading as Mercy Wilkins) again...Will history repeat itself?

The Hebrides Ensemble brings this new opera to Orkney followingperformances in central Scotland.

This is the first of two performances by the Hebrides Ensemblea longstanding collaborator with the Festival and also celebratingits 25th Birthday. Look out for a further performances on Thursday23 (Event 32).


17.THE IRIS MURDERPre-concert Talk


John Gallas and AlasdairNicolson in conversationwith Jennifer Martin.

Admission is free.Please apply for a ticket.

11

WorldPremière

22.00 – MidnightThe Girnel, Kirkwall


Free Admision


19.ORGAN, CHOIR AND PIPES22.00 St Magnus Cathedral

Michael Bawtree OrganTim Dean ConductorTBC BagpipesRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland Voices

Bach Prelude and Fuguein G major BWV 541

Beamish ChaconneBingham Ancient Sunlight

(Prelude, Aria & Toccata)Maxwell Davies Reliqui Domum MeumJennifer Martin Canon- esque

Byrd Laudibus in sanctisTallis Sancte Deus

O nata luxVictoria O magnum mysterium

Alma redemptoris materSheppard Libera nos

Reflecting the programming of a concert in the very first St MagnusFestival in 1977 this late-night programme brings together organand bagpipes and for 2016 we add a choir. Michael Bawtreeplays new and recent works for organ, including a première fromalumnus of the original Hoy Composers’ Course Jennifer Martin,against the backdrop of one of Bach’s great showpieces for theinstrument. Beamish’s work takes a Burns song The Slave’s Lamentas its starting point and we will hear this on the pipes in advanceof this performance. As part of the residency of the RoyalConservatoire of Scotland, the RCS Voices intersperse the organrepertoire with choral music from the Renaissance.


Tuesday

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21.SAMSON TSOY& PAVEL KOLESNIKOVPiano Four Hands


Samson Tsoy & Pavel Kolesnikov Piano Duo

Beethoven 8 Variations from the theme‘Grafen Von Waldstein’ WoO 67

Beethoven Große Fuge, Op. 133Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

These two young virtuosi bring the Festival’s new Steinwaypiano to the fore for the first time with a piano duo recital. Beethoven’ssimple variations on a theme from Count Waldstein, dedicateeof his well-known piano sonata, sit with the composer’s ownarrangement of his ‘Great Fugue’ Op. 133 originally for stringquartet. Another composer’s ‘great’ work finishes this programmewith a highly virtuosic performance of Stravinsky’s masterpieceballet score which took the musical world by storm at its firstperformance.

Samson Tsoy was born in Kazakhstan and Pavel Kolesnikov wasborn in Russia but both now live in London and in 2014 werechosen by the City Music Foundation and BBC New GenerationArtists respectively to join their schemes for young performingartists. They travel the world treating audiences to extraordinary,critically acclaimed performances, thrilling fans all over the globewith their unique blend of virtuosity and brilliance. Their playinghas been described as refined, spirited, thrilling and poetic.


20.CONDUCTINGFOR KIDSDanish Sinfonietta(RandersKammerorkester)


The Danish Sinfonietta andtheir principal conductor, DavidRiddell, give a fascinatingintroduction into all aspectsof a conductor’s work - scorepreparation, rehearsal technique,conducting technique - with livemusical examples whereparticipants will be invited tocorrect musicians’ mistakes.Between five and ten participantswill be invited from the audienceto conduct a short piece with theSinfonietta at the end of theworkshop. An early opportunityfor those aspiring maestros!


Parking is very limited,please use public car parks

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22.STOCKHOLM CHAMBER BRASSExcursion to St Peter’s Kirk, Sandwick

15.15 St Peter’s Kirk, SandwickBuses depart 14.30 Concert starts 15.15

Igor Stravinksy Ragtime(arr. Tom Poulson) English Madrigal SuiteRobert Schumann Selection from Liederkreis op. 39Piers Hellawell Sound Carvings from the Bell FoundryBenjamin Staern Two Souls One Mind (Part one)Robert Schumann Selection from Liederkreis op. 39Malcolm Arnold Brass Quintet

One of the world’s leading brass quintets, Stockholm ChamberBrass presents a concert showcasing its legacy of commissions andarrangements for brass quintet in the unusual and historic settingof St Peter’s Kirk. Music for voice has much in common with thatfor Brass, and here the quintet will perform two of their newestarrangements of vocal music: madrigals from the English Renaissanceand in contrast, some of Schumann’s famous song cycle. Alongsidethese they perform their exhilarating transcription of Stravinsky’sRagtime for 11 instruments. Since its foundation in 1985 the ensemblehas commissioned over 40 works for brass quintet and here theyperform two, the UK première of Benjamin Staern’s Two Souls OneMind and Hellawell’s quintet from his series of Sound Carvings.The programme is completed by a classic of the brass quintetrepertoire, Malcom Arnold’s Quintet.

Buses leave Palace Road, Kirkwall at 14.30arriving back approximately 17.15

Approximately 1 hour 15 minsTickets £19 Concessions £15

Ticket includes transport.Parking is limited, use of Festival buses is advised.

BritishPremière

23.BBC MUSICMATTERSPanel DiscussionRecording


Presenter Tom Service leads apanel discussion which will formpart of the BBC Radio 3 MusicMatters magazine programmeabout St Magnus Festival at 40and also looking more broadlyat the current state of things inthe world of festivals, rural artsand how this intersects with newwork, new artists and training.

Approximately 70 minutesAdmission is free.Please apply for a ticket.

This discussion willbe recorded for futurebroadcast by BBC Radio 3

14

24.DIDO AND AENEAS20.00 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

FlorilegiumVoces8

Ashley Solomon Conductor

A story of love, loss and magic, the opera tells of Dido’s marriageto Aeneas, the wicked plotting of a sorceress to destroy this bondand Aeneas’s departure leaving Dido bereft and with death as heronly option. It is filled with beautiful and memorable music includingthe exquisite When I am laid in earth. Only performed once inPurcell’s lifetime, this work has become a model for many chamberoperas since, and in the absence of the composer’s original scorehas been arranged and realised by many musicians most notablyBenjamin Britten. For these performances, Ashley Solomon willbring his own interpretation to the orchestral arrangement.

Dido and Aeneas will be performed in the centre of theCathedral’s nave.

Approximately 80 minutesUnreserved tickets £15Concessions £11



Free Admision


Wednesday

22

25.JOHN GALLASFestival Poet


One of the UK’s most fascinatingpoets, John Gallas was bornin Wellington, New Zealandin 1950, attended OtagoUniversity in New Zealand,and won a CommonwealthScholarship to Merton College,Oxford to study medievalliterature. He settled in Englandin 1973 and worked for theLeicestershire Student SupportService, teaching permanentlyexcluded schoolchildren.

In 1987 he threw awayeverything he had written, andstarted again. A prize in theNational Poetry Competition ledto the publication of his firstcollection with Carcanet Press,Practical Anarchy. Then followedFlying Carpets Over FilbertStreet, Grrrrr, Resistance is Futile,The Song Atlas and Star City.His minor obsessions numberCentral Asia and Mongolia,camels, cycling (with the completecoasts of Britain and Irelanddone), kinds of anarchism,swimming, Fellini, Beckett,Cormac McCarthy, Schnittke,tramping, T.E. Lawrence, sittingbreathless on the tops ofmountains, and writing poetry.


Parking is very limited,please use public car parks.

15

ROMEO ANDJULIET14.30 New Phoenix Cinema,Kirkwall

Baz Luhrmann helped adapt thisclassic Shakespearean romantictragedy for the screen, updatingthe setting to a post-modern citynamed Verona Beach. In thisversion, the Capulets and theMontagues are two rival gangs.

Running time 120 minutesTickets from thePickaquoy Centrewww.pickaquoy.co.uk01856 879900

Sponsored byThe PickaquoyCentre

FestivalFilm

26.STOCKHOLM CHAMBER BRASS13.00 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

Hildegaard von Bingen Improvisation on O’EcclesiaKarin Rehnqvist ValvCarlo Gesualdo 2 motetsMaxwell Davies Brass Quintet

In the beautifully resonant acoustic of St Magnus CathedralStockholm Chamber Brass perform a programme spanning900 years and culminating in Peter Maxwell Davies’ monumentalBrass Quintet dating from 1981. Alongside this the quintet willperform the UK première of Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist’sValv. Older music completes the programme with musiccontemporary with the founding of St Magnus Cathedral bythe Abbess-composer Hildegaard von Bingen and two motetsby the infamous, renaissance prince - composer Carlo Gesualdo.

Stockholm Chamber Brass was founded in 1985 and enjoys areputation as one of the world’s finest brass quintets. From theirearliest days they have been champions of contemporary composersand have commissioned over 40 new works for the ensemble.

Approximately 1 hourTickets £20, £15, £10Concessions £15, £11, £8

16

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21

27.BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA19.00 Pickaquoy Arena, Kirkwall

Alexander Vedernikov ConductorAlexei Volodin Piano

Glinka Russlan and LudmillaRachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 18Tippett Ritual Dances from The Midsummer MarriageProkofiev Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet

Inspired by this year’s Shakespeare anniversary and his most famouspair of characters, the BBC Symphony Orchestra presents anevening of orchestral virtuosity on the biggest of themes: love.Glinka’s energetic curtain-raiser is filled with breezy excitementand heroic exuberance and sits in contrast to the highly passionateand richly sonorous second concerto by fellow-Russian SergeiRachmaninov. The second half of the concert brings extracts fromProkofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet and Tippett’s opera TheMidsummer Marriage where the themes of love, marriage, deathand enlightenment are explored in glitteringly virtuosic orchestrations.

Alexander Vedernikov returns to Orkney having visited previouslywith the BBC SO and for this concert he is joined by the extraordinaryRussian pianist Alexei Volodin playing the Festival’s new SteinwayPiano for the first time in a concerto performance.

Approximately 2 hour 15 minsTickets £25, £20, £12 Concessions £19, £15, £9

22



Free Admision


28.VOCES8Eventide


Orlando Gibbons Drop, Drop Slow TearsThomas Tallis O Nata LuxBenjamin Britten A Hymn to the VirginThomas Tallis Te Lucis Ante TerminumSergei Rachmaninov Bogoroditse DevoThomas Tallis Te Lucis Ante TerminumMaxwell Davies Lullaby for Lucyarr. David Blackwell Steal Awayarr. Bob Chilcott Were You ThereKate Rusby Underneath the StarsPlainsong Requiem AeternamGabriel Fauré Pie JesuPlainsong In ParadisumGregorio Allegri Miserere Mei

Voces8 has quickly won aninternational reputation as oneof the UK’s finest and mostversatile ensembles. Here theypresent a programme based onEventide inspired by the wordsof the American poet FreemanE. Miller. From Renaissancepolyphony to spirituals toAllegri’s famous Miserere thisconcert is one of reflection whosecenterpiece is a beautifullysimple gift in musical form by theFestival’s founder Peter MaxwellDavies.

Approximately time tbcTickets £25, £20, £10Concessions £19, £15, £8

The pleasures in their soft robes flyWith angel wings adown the sky,And rapture lulls to sweet repose,At eventide.

23

Thursday

23

30.FLORILEGIUM13.00 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

FlorilegiumAshley Solomon Director/Flute

Purcell Chacony in G minorTelemann Flute Concerto in DVivaldi Trio Sonata RV63 (La Folia)Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 BWV 1050

Celebrating their own 25th anniversary, Florilegium bring a classicprogramme ending with the fifth of Bach’s best-loved BrandenburgConcertos featuring flute, violin and, uniquely, harpsichord. Beforethat, Vivaldi’s virtuosic variations on the famous ‘Folia’ theme forviolin and Telemann’s delicate and dancing concerto for fluteexploit the magnificent playing of Florilegium’s lead violin andflute/director. The intense, ostinato variations of Purcell’s Chaconycomplete an exciting journey round the baroque world.


29.BESSY THE BASSRound the World

10.30 Stromness Town Hall,Stromness

John Cavanagh NarratorMay Halyburton Double BassDavid Knotts Piano

Come and join Bessy Bass andshare in her adventures as sheembarks on a trip to visit musicalfriends from her coastal homein Lower Largo, Scotland to avariety of European destinations.Along the way, Bessy makesnew friends, learns somethingof the different cultures of eachdestination and discovers newmusic in a variety of styles.

She also encounters severalmodes of transport including thatof a magical car, named Henri.The wonderfully engaging JohnCavanagh reads directly fromthe book by May Halyburtonwith music composed andarranged by Lynda Cochrane.Robyn Thomson’s originalillustrations feature as abackdrop for this performance.


31.JOHNSMAS FOYThe Hampshire


See Event 8 for details

Supported byWW100 Scotland

32.HEBRIDES ENSEMBLE& MAX19.30 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

Will Conway Cello/Director

Maxwell Davies Kinloche his FantassieJohn Gourlay New WorkDebussy SyrinxMaxwell Davies Piano Trio (A voyage to Fair Isle)Messiaen Theme and Variations for violin

and pianoAdès Court Studies from The TempestMaxwell Davies Renaissance Scottish Dances

The Hebrides Ensemble celebrates its 25th anniversary with aprogramme that reflects a concert in the first St Magnus Festivalgiven by the Fires of London 40 years ago.

This is also a tribute concert to a significant founder of the FestivalPeter Maxwell Davies (Max) bringing together his clever re-workingsof Renassiance music with his beautiful Piano Trio based arounda trip to Fair Isle which sits a little further north between Orkneyand Shetland. Thomas Adès’s music comes from his large-scaleopera of The Tempest and pays tribute to Shakespeare’s anniversarywhilst Messiaen’s early work was a celebratory piece writtenfor his first wife.

Adding to our 40 Festival premières is a new work from JohnGourlay, an alumnus of the St Magnus Composers’ Course.

Approximately 2 hoursTickets £25, £20, £10 Concessions £19, £15, £8

WorldPremière



Free Admision


Supported byThe Scottish Government

Friday

24

SHINE14.30 New Phoenix Cinema,Kirkwall

As a child piano prodigy,David Helfgott’s (Geoffrey Rush)musical ambitions generate frictionwith his overbearing father.When Helfgott travels to Londonon a musical scholarship, hiscareer as a pianist blossoms.However, the pressures of hisnewfound fame brings Helfgott'slatent schizophrenia boiling tothe surface.

Running time 105 minutesTickets from thePickaquoy Centrewww.pickaquoy.co.uk01856 879900

Sponsored byThe PickaquoyCentre

FestivalFilm

Watch out for street p

erformers from

NATURAL THEATRE COMPANY

out and about in Kirkwall

33.THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAUNWRAPPED18.00 Pickaquoy Arena, Kirkwall

BBC Symphony OrchestraAlexander Vedernikov Conductor

Rarely is there an opportunity to look behind the scenes and underthe bonnet of a symphony orchestra in action. What does it feeland sound like to sit way at the back of an orchestra? Why is theconductor there? Why do the violins sit on the left and the celloson the right? What do the leaders of sections do?

All these questions and more will be answered as the BBC SOleads you on this unique tour looking at all the sections of theorchestra, presenting famous pieces of repertoire and allowing theaudience to interact with the musicians, for some even the chanceto sit in amongst them. Music for the event will include SibeliusValse Triste and Strauss Don Juan.

Don’t miss the once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close andpersonal with one of the world’s greatest orchestras.


27

SIROCCO WINDSFestival on Tour

20.00 The Space, Rousay

Baines DivertimentoO’Carolan Three Celtic TunesD'Rivera HabaneraKikuchi Air Mail EditionMilhaud PastoraleBeethoven Variations on a theme from MozartPierné Bucolique VarieéCanteloube Rustiques

This young ensemble present an eclectic selection of music for flute,clarinet and bassoon ranging from Beethoven’s variations ona theme from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni to contemporaryarrangements of folk tunes by the Irish harper O’Carolan anda rarity by Francis Baines, a twentieth century British composer whofamously contributed to Hoffnung’s concerts. A fascinatingexploration of the uniqe soundworld of these wind instruments.

Approximately 1 hourTickets £6 Children £1

Festival on Tour is sponsored byWood Group PSN

Supported byLive Music Now Scotland

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GNOSSTwo of Orkney’s talented youngperformers, Graham Rorie andAidan Moodie on fiddle,mandolin and guitar.




34.ALEXEI VOLODIN20.00 St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

Alexei Volodin Piano

Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, Ten Pieces for Piano, Op. 75

Mendelssohn Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream(arr. Rachmaninov)Medtner from Four Tales, Op. 35, No. 4 in C-sharp minorRachmaninov Sonata for Piano No. 1, Op. 28

Acclaimed for his highly sensitive touch and technical brilliance,the Russian pianist Alexei Volodin is in demand throughout theworld. To inaugurate the new Festival piano he brings to Orkneya programme which commemorates the 400th anniversary of thedeath of Shakespeare.

This programme also gives a second chance to hear some ofProkofiev’s colourful music for Romeo and Juliet scaled down fromorchestra to a single instrument and Rachmaninov’s virtuosic reductionof Mendelssohn’s intricate orchestral scherzo from A MidsummerNight’s Dream. Medtner, a younger contemporary of Rachmaninovand Scriabin, completes the Shakespearean tribute with a passionateand highly-charged work based on “Blow, winds, and crack yourcheeks” from King Lear.

The final and most substantial work in this programme owes itsbackground more to another great literary figure, Goethe, andspecifically the tragic tale of Faust. It is an epic work showingRachmaninov’s prodigious talent both as pianist and composer.


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30 35.JOHN GALLASFestival Poet

11.00 Stromness Parish Church,Stromness

See Event 25 for details.

Saturday

25 Watch out for

NATURAL THEATRE COMPANY

out and about in Stromnessstreet performers from

36 a.Excursions to Woodwick HouseSIROCCO WIND TRIO11.00 Woodwick House, EvieBus departs 10.30 Concert starts 11.00

Baines DivertimentoO'Carolan Three Celtic TunesD'Rivera HabaneraKikuchi Air Mail EditionMilhaud PastoraleBeethoven Variations on a theme from MozartPierné Bucolique VarieéCanteloube Rustiques

This young ensemble present an eclectic selection of music for flute,clarinet and bassoon ranging from Beethoven’s variations ona theme from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni to contemporaryarrangements of folk tunes by the Irish harper O’Carolan anda rarity by Francis Baines, a twentieth century British composerwho famously contributed to Hoffnung’s concerts. A fascinatingexploration of the uniqe soundworld of these wind instruments.

Ticket includes tea, cake and transport.

Buses leave Palace Road, Kirkwall at 10.30buses return to Palace Road following the concert

Supported byLive Music Now Scotland

31

36 b.Excursions toWoodwick HouseJOHN GALLAS13.30 Woodwick House, EvieBus departs 13.00Concert starts 13.30

One of the UK’s most fascinatingpoets, John Gallas was born inWellington, New Zealand in1950, he then went to OtagoUniversity in New Zealand,and won a CommonwealthScholarship to Merton College,Oxford to study medievalliterature. He settled in Englandin 1973 and worked for theLeicestershire Student SupportService, teaching permanentlyexcluded schoolchildren.

In 1987 he threw awayeverything he had written, andstarted again. A prize in theNational Poetry Competition ledto the publication of his firstcollection with Carcanet Press,Practical Anarchy. Then followedFlying Carpets Over FilbertStreet, Grrrrr, Resistance is Futile,The Song Atlas and Star City.His minor obsessions numberCentral Asia and Mongolia,camels, cycling (with the completecoasts of Britain and Irelanddone), kinds of anarchism,swimming, Fellini, Beckett,Cormac McCarthy, Schnittke,tramping, T.E. Lawrence, sittingbreathless on the tops ofmountains, and writing poetry.

Ticket includes transport.

Buses leave Palace Road,Kirkwall at 13.00buses return to Palace Roadfollowing the concert

36 c.Excursions to Woodwick HouseROBERT IRVINE16.00 Woodwick House, EvieBus departs 15.30 Concert starts 16.00

Robert Irvine Cello

Bach Suite for Solo Celloin C major BWV 1009

James McMillan Knock-KnockSally Beamish Miranda DreamingEddie McGuire Elegaic LullabyMark Anthony Turnage Amelie’s TangoEleanor Alberga Ride ThroughTom Irvine SafetyJohn De Simone MisremembranceGabriel Jackson Child SongWilliam Sweeney CaolasDavid Fennessy 5 Hofer Photographs

As part of a project in aid of UNICEF, Robert Irvine asked manycomposers to write small works for solo cello on the theme“children and their suffering in the world”. These works have beenrecorded for CD release by Delphian Records but we hear themlive here for the first time alongside Bach's beautiful and delicateC major suite. Robert Irvine is one of Scotland's finest musiciansat ease with both classic repertoire and contemporary music.He has played a key role in new music in Scotland founding boththe Chamber Group of Scotland and also the Red Note Ensemble.

Ticket includes tea, cake and transport.

Buses leave Palace Road, Kirkwall at 15.30buses return to Palace Road following the concert

All concerts approximately 1 hourTickets £15 Concessions £11Parking is very limited, use of Festival bus is advised.

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

WorldPremière

32 37.BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAwith ST MAGNUS FESTIVAL CHORUS19.30 Pickaquoy Arena, Kirkwall

BBC Symphony OrchestraSt Magnus Festival Chorus

Alexander Vedernikov Conductor

Ailish Tynan SopranoAnna Huntley Mezzo SopranoNicholas Mulroy TenorStephan Loges Bass/Baritone

Denise Stout Chorus Director

Stanford Songs of the FleetSally Beamish A Cage of DovesBeethoven Symphony No. 9 (Choral) Op. 125

Sally Beamish, celebrating her 60th birthday this year, has longconnections with St Magnus Festival and Orkney and here the BBCSymphony Orchestra plays a work inspired by George MackayBrown’s novel Magnus full of northern light and seascapes. Thefirst of two works with chorus also looks seawards, in the characterfulSongs of the Fleet by Stanford which stands as part of the Festival’scommemoration of The Battle of Jutland; indeed part of this workFarewell was used in memorials at the time. Beethoven’s epicSymphony No. 9 is performed here for the very first time at theFestival and continues the Jutland commemoration with its hymn,the Ode to Joy, celebrating freedom, brotherhood and togetherness.

Approximately 2 hours 15Tickets £25, £20, £12 Concessions £19, £15, £9


MORAG BROWNAND LEWISPOWELL-REIDOn fiddle and bouzouki oraccordion, they are at homeperforming both traditional Celticmusic, and music from Europe,the Balkans and Greece.




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38.MYRTHENSongs To The Moon

14.00 Stromness Town Hall, Stromness

Ailish Tynan SopranoAnna Huntley Mezzo SopranoNicholas Mulroy TenorStephan Loges Bass

Joseph Middleton Piano

Songs to include:Brahms Der Gang zum Liebchen Op. 48, No. 1Brahms Ständchen Op. 106, No. 1Brahms Der Abend Op. 64, No. 2Brahms Vergebliches Ständchen Op. 84, No. 4Schumann Mondnacht Op. 39, No. 5Schumann Zwei Venetianische Lieder I

Op. 25, No. 17 from ‘Myrthen’Schumann Die Lotosblume Op. 25, No. 7

from ‘Myrthen’ Warlock The NightSaint-Saëns Guitares et MandolinesDebussy ApparitionChausson La Nuit Op. 11, No. 1Hahn L’heure exquise from ‘Chansons grises’Fauré Clair de lune Op. 46, No. 2

Taking its name from a cycle of songs by Schumann, and with thepianist Joseph Middleton at its heart, the ensemble Myrthen bringstogether the crème de la crème of young British-based singers andhas won universal critical acclaim. The ensemble has a growingreputation for vivid and fresh performances alongside thoughtfuland illuminating programming and mixes solo song with duet andensembles within its recitals. For this concert the ensemble exploresthe theme of the moon in a range of songs starting with the richvein of German lieder by Brahms and Schumann before exploringEnglish and French song.


Sponsored byEMEC

Sunday

26


CAMERONDOWELL’S KGBA full line-up of swing andblues from a gatheringof Orkney’s best musicians.




MAX IN THE FESTIVALPeter Maxwell Davies was founder of the Festival 40 years ago.Sadly he will not be with us in person but his music featuresthroughout the programme and we hope that this will be a reminderand celebration of his legacy to the Festival and Orkney.You can hear Max’s music in the following events:

Event 15 Orkney Camerata

Festival on Tour RCS Students & Sanday Community School

Event 19 Organ, choir and pipes

Event 26 Stockholm Chamber Brass

Event 28 Voces8

Event 33 Hebrides Ensemble

Event 11 and Event 23 will also look back over 40 years ofSt Magnus International Festival and discuss Max's work bringinginternational musicians to Orkney as well as making pieces forlocal amateurs and children.

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40 BIRTHDAY WORKS OF ARTAs part of the celebrations of the 40th St Magnus InternationalFestival we have asked artists of all kinds to contribute to the Festivalperiod in June and the results will be evident during the Festivaleither on walls, in publications, on our website or decorating ourvenues. Watch out at festival time for a full listing of this projectand where you can see the works.

BUILDING THENESS OF BRODGARTalk by Nick Card,Ness of Brodgar site director

New Phoenix Cinema, Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall17.30 Thursday 16 June 2016

CELIA CLARKHagi Hús Gallery, Millfield, Toab

An exhibition of work by artist Celia Clark. Includes digital artworkexploring detail, colour and line and encaustic wax paintingsexploring the sea and surrounding landscape of Orkney.

May – SeptemberThursday to Saturday 13.30 - 17.3001856 781200 / www.hagihusgallery.co.uk

ELEMENTAL CONVERSATIONSNorthlight Gallery, 49 Graham Place, Stromness

Katherine Diaper & Fiona SandersonTwo local artists record the shorelines of Orkney in paint and metal.

Sunday 12 June – Thursday 23 June10.30 – 17.00 (Saturday 11 June preview 18.00 - 20.00)01856 851194 / www.northlight.artweb.com

Talk andExhibitions

Free

Free

Free

Free

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THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND,SCAPA FLOW ANDTHE WAR AT SEA, 1914-18Orkney Museum, Tankerness House, Kirkwall

Open May – September 2016Open Monday – Saturday, 10.30 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Photo of Colossus

Free

2016 IS YEAR OFINNOVATION, ARCHITECTUREAND DESIGN IN SCOTLAND.

St Magnus International Festival has always been about new workand newly designed creations but this year we’re also celebratingsome of the spaces in which we present our events.

From St Peter’s Kirk in Sandwick to the Ness Battery in Stromness,Woodwick House in Evie and the medieval St Magnus Cathedralin Kirkwall we'll be visiting venues not always open to the public.Look out during the Festival for our venue guides within the FestivalProgramme Book and Architecture guides to all our concerts.

40 new works of Art will be scattered through the virtual andreal world of the Festival bringing us highly contemporaryrepresentations of innovation and design.

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NATURAL STATESPier Arts Centre, Stromness

New painting by three leading European artists Ingo Meller(DE), Daniel Sturgis (UK) and Clare Woods (UK) alongsideworks from the Pier Arts Centre Collection.

18 June - 20 August 2016Open Monday - Saturday 10.30am - 5.00pm

Supported by theGoethe-Institut

Free

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1. Pickaquoy Centre2. New Phoenix Cinema4. St Magnus Cathedral

5. King Street Halls6. Orkney Theatre7. The Girnel

1. Stromness Parish Church2. Stromness Town Hall3. Pier Arts Centre4. Old Academy Car Park

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St Magnus Festival is a registered Scottish Charity SC011666

If you require any help with access to venues or any otherFestival information please contact the Festival office.

Online booking: www.stmagnusfestival.com

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +44 (0) 1856 871445

St Magnus International Festival, 60 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1DN

facebook.com/stmagnusfestival

twitter.com/@stmagnus

The right is reserved to substitute artists and venues and vary the advertised programme if necessary.All information is correct at the time of going to press.

Design: Muse Design / Print: The Orcadian

PAL ACE RD

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Documents

The Last Post - St Magnus Festival17 Pre-concert talk – The Iris Murder 19.00 Orkney Theatre 10 18 The Iris Murder 20.00 Orkney Theatre 10 19 Organ, Choir and Pipes 22.00 St Magnus