Edward McGuire

Thursday 25th October 2007

An evening with one of the UK's leading composers Edward McGuire, in conversation, performance of one of his seminal orchestral works and in performance with member of his group The Whistlebinkies

BBC SSO, conductor Alexander Titov

Source - reflection on Neil Gunn's novel "Highland River" (1979 / 1982)

Category: orchestral Duration: 19' Instrumentation: 2122 2211 Tp 2 Perc Str

I had read Highland River with a view to adapting it to a music theatre setting. Although the project did not come to fruition, the images of the novel were fresh in my mind when the present work was requested. What resulted was not the translation of the novel into music, but a piece generally inspired by images of the hero's fighting spirit, the virgorous magical adventures of his open-air Highland childhood, the horrors of his Great War and Glasgow slum experiences and the all-pervading childhood river, its mysterious salmon and source which he returns to find.

© Edward McGuire

Prelude - 6.45pm

6.45pm in the Grand Hall. BBC Radio Scotland's Mary Ann Kennedy in conversation with Edward McGuire.

Concert - 7.30pm

• SOURCE, Edward McGuire (born 1948)
• VIOLIN CONCERTO NO.1, Bruch (1838-1920) - soloist Jennifer Pike
• SYMPHONY NO.7, Dvořák (1841-1904)

Post-Concert Coda

10 minutes after the main concert. Edward McGuire (flute) is joined by two of his colleagues from The Whistlebinkies, Rhona MacKay (clarsach and orchestral harpist) and Iain Crawford (bass).

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