Higham, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Emelyanychev online review - I should rococo

★★★★ HIGHAM, SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, EMELYANYCHEV I should rococo

Joyous Schubert and Tchaikovsky to lift the spirits

Although this streamed concert from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra featured the music of Schubert and Tchaikovsky, the ghost at the feast was Mozart, the acknowledged inspiration behind the two main pieces. In particular these works sought to capture the charm and ease of Mozart but cast in the later composers’ idioms.

Isata Kanneh-Mason, BBCSSO, Gourlay online review - give thanks for lockdown concerts

★★★★ ISATA KANNEH-MASON, BBCSSO, GOURLAY A taste of modern America

A taste of modern America followed by sumptuous Beethoven

As our friends across the pond celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, a mix of music from America kicked off the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s concert, opening with Massachusetts-born composer Carl Ruggles’s Angels for muted brass. Ruggles originally penned the work in 1920 as the second movement of a three-part piece entitled Men and Angels.

Clayton, Frank-Gemmill, SCO, Kuusisto online review – small but beautifully formed

★★★★ CLAYTON, FRANK-GEMMILL, SCO, KUUSISTO ONLINE Small but beautifully formed

Music of style and substance presented in an enticing online package

After a brief interlude of concerts with a live audience, we are back to streamed events from empty halls (though many venues in London will be opening up again from next Thursday, concerts in Scotland have never opened up to the public). Some ensembles have opted to sell tickets, others – including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra – to broadcast the music free but s

The Three Kings review – saluting Busby, Shankly and Stein

★★★★ THE THREE KINGS How a trio of Scottish pitmen became football legends

Moving documentary about a trio of Scottish pitmen turned football legends

If Shakespeare had lived in post-war Britain, he surely would have dramatised the careers of the three towering contemporaneous Scottish football managers whose visions of how football should be played and its importance to ordinary people left a greater impact on the nation’s selfhood than any 20th century political leader, excepting Churchill.

Album: Barbara Dickson - Time is Going Faster

★★★★ BARBARA DICKSON - TIME IS GOING FASTER Bringing it all back home again

Bringing it all back home again

It’s 45 years since the West End success of John, Paul, George, Ringo… and Bert put a young Scottish folkie named Barbara Dickson on the map, launching a career that brought richly-deserved success on stage and screen, as well as in music. She’s since recorded 25 studio albums and enjoyed major singles success.

Get Duked! review - briefly endearing, then a chore

A likable cast goes down for the count in coming-of-age misfire

An endearing cast does what it can to keep Get Duked! aloft until writer-director Ninian Doff's movie sinks under the weight of too many wearisome shifts in tone. A coming-of-age film that is alternately silly and sentimental while wanting at times to be scary as well, the result leaves no doubt as to the talents of its gifted young cast. Rather more debatable is music video alum Doff's control over material that lurches all over the map, buoying up the audience on the back of some fresh-faced leads before devolving into absurdity by the final reel. 

New Music Unlocked 1: Reef, Supersonic Festival, Elton John and more

NEW MUSIC UNLOCKED 1 Reef, Supersonic Festival, Elton John and more

A new weekly preview celebrating the gradual revival of the live music industry

The lockdown which began in March is now noticeably easing, although in the realm of gigs and festivals things are still nowhere near operative. Nonetheless, theartsdesk is responding to the changes by ceasing our many weeks of New Music Lockdown Specials and looking forward to an increasing amount of actual live events. This week, we can only offer one, alongside plenty of streamed entertainment, but it’s early days. Here’s to the future. Dive in!