}The Scotsman, March 2019It was a brilliantly conceived, thought-provoking evening – somehow both wildly entertaining and deeply moving – showcasing exceptionally fine playing from Kuusisto.The Scotsman, March 2019
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In April 2020, Pekka Kuusisto returns to Scotland to perform with both the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra where he is this season’s Featured Artist. On Thursday 2 April Kuusisto is set to perform the world premiere of Mexican composer Enrico Chapela’s Antiphaser, a concerto for electric violin and strings, in his return to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra after they performed together at the BBC Proms last summer. Thomas Dausgaard will also lead the orchestra in Nielsen’s Symphony No.6, Villa-Lobos’ Danca dos mosquitos, and Seabird Cities by Scottish composer Lisa Robertson.
Later the same month, Kuusisto once again joins the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for the third concert series in his residency as Featured Artist this season. He will perform the UK premiere of Nico Muhly’s Shrink, a concerto for violin and strings which was written especially for him. He received praise for the world premiere with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in December 2019, with The Age describing how he ‘met the concerto’s ferocious demands with relish’. He will also direct the orchestra in Stravinsky’s Concerto in E flat, Barber’s Adagio for Strings, and Copland’s suite from Appalachian Spring, as well as Bryce Dessner’s Ornament and Crime which was written in 2015.
Thursday 2 April 2020
Glasgow City Halls, 7.30pm
Pekka Kuusisto violin | Thomas Dausgaard conductor | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Villa-Lobos Danca dos mosquitos
Enrico Chapela Antiphaser Concerto for E-violin and orchestra (world premiere)
Lisa Robertson Seabird Cities
Nielsen Symphony No.6 ‘Sinfonia semplice’
Wednesday 22 April 2020, Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews, 7.30pm
Thursday 23 April 2020, The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 7.30pm
Friday 24 April 2020, City Halls, Glasgow, 7.30pm
Pekka Kuusisto violin/director | Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Stravinsky Concerto in E flat ‘Dumbarton Oaks’
Nico Muhly Shrink Concerto for violin and strings (UK premiere)
Bryce Dessner Ornament and Crime
Barber Adagio for Strings
Copland Appalachian Spring suite