Tagged with 'BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra'

There is a distinct magic to Snape Maltings in June. The Suffolk reed beds shimmer, the North Sea breeze carries a quiet creative energy, and the legacy of Benjamin Britten feels entirely alive. But this June, the 77th Aldeburgh Festival carries an even deeper resonance. Marking 50 years since Britten’s passing, the festival is honouring its founder’s vision of the "complete musician”, and they have found the perfect modern embodiment in Ryan Wigglesworth.

With For Laura, after Bach, British composer and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth pays tribute to Laura Samuel, long-time leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, who passed away in 2024. The piece will be premiered on 27 July 2025 at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms, conducted by the composer himself together with the orchestra’s string section – the very ensemble to which Laura Samuel was so closely connected.

On 1 February, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins presents Michael Tippett's Symphony in B-flat at City Halls in Glasgow. The performance is the culmination of their multi-season Tippett Symphony cycle.

A predecessor to Symphony No. 1, the Symphony in B-flat was written in 1934 and withdrawn by the composer after only five performances. This will be the first performance of the work in over 80 years, and also the first to incorporate revisions made by the composer after those first few performances. Material for the Symphony has been prepared using a recently discovered manuscript score marked with Tippett’s final revisions to the piece.

"It will be fascinating to hear the early symphony, knowing as we do what a great symphonist Tippett later became.  It is akin to finding that elusive last piece of a jigsaw puzzle, finally revealing the complete picture of Tippett the symphonist." (Martyn Brabbins)

A new recording of Tippett's Symphony Nos. 1 and 2 from the cycle with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins is released this month on Hyperion. A second disc of Symphony Nos. 3 and 4, as well as the Symphony in B-flat will follow later this year.

• Sir Michael Tippett - profile


• Symphony in B-flat - workdetails