ORKNEY ISLANDS 18-23 JUNE 2010

ORKNEY ISLANDS 

18-23 JUNE 2010

welcome 

I’m delighted to introduce our 2010 brochure. Read on and you’ll find an exhilarating 

mix of events in which national and international artists rub shoulders with local 

performers in the near-endless light of Orkney at midsummer. 

A number of our performances boast the Polska! Year logo. Polska! Year is an exciting 

series of events presenting the best of Polish arts and culture. Under the patronage 

of HM The Queen and HE the President of the Republic of Poland, the series has been 

running since Spring 2009, introducing some major talents to UK audiences. It will 

conclude in June at the St Magnus Festival. 

welcome2010 

We are proud to have been invited to programme and present the final events of this 

prestigious project and look forward to the culmination of what has been an inspiring 

creative collaboration. We welcome, as special guests, an array of world-class Polish 

musicians and, in his bicentennial year, we celebrate the genius of Poland’s greatest 

composer, Fryderyk Chopin. 

Our MagFest strand sets out to delight and surprise, inspiring new audiences as well 

as enhancing the Festival experience for regular Festival-goers. Each year MagFest 

reinvents itself, and this year we transform a disused building in the centre of Kirkwall 

into a sophisticated venue which plays host to an eclectic programme of music, circus 

skills and cabaret. 

We look forward to welcoming you this summer. Please book early to ensure you are 

part of it all. 

Glenys Hughes Festival Director 

festival information and ticket booking 01856 871445

friday18june 

Up the close and down the stair, 

In the house with Burke and Hare. 

1 

Orkney Arts Theatre, Kirkwall, 7pm 

The Doctor and the Devils 

by Dylan Thomas 

adapted and directed by Vivia Leslie 

music by Alasdair Nicolson 

1a preview 

Thursday 17 June, Orkney Arts Theatre, 7.30pm 

friday 18 june 

Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief, 

Knox the man who buys the beef. 

A special adaptation of Dylan Thomas’s powerful 

screenplay set in Edinburgh in the 1820s, based 

on the infamous, real-life story of Burke and Hare 

and Scottish surgeon Dr Knox. The gripping tale, 

the wonderfully Dickensian characters, Dylan 

Thomas’s lyrical language and Alasdair Nicolson’s 

atmospheric music all combine to make a 

compelling piece of community theatre. 

approximately 2 hours 

children’s song 

image: Iain Ashman 

1

photo: Clive Barda 

friday 18 june 

2 & 3 

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 7pm & 9.30pm 

Le Jongleur 

de Notre Dame 

Sir Peter 

Maxwell Davies 

Hebrides Ensemble 

Chris Patfield mime-juggler 

Håkan Vramsmo baritone 

Joshua Armstrong director 

Le Jongleur is a charming music-theatre piece 

by Peter Maxwell Davies, based on the French 

mediæval tale of a juggler who joins a monastery. 

Lacking the talents of the other monks, he has 

no gift to offer a statue of the Virgin except 

his ability to juggle. A carnival band of young 

people introduces this heartwarming musical 

extravaganza. 

Le Jongleur will be performed in the centre of 

the Cathedral Nave, with all seats offering a good 

view of the performance area. 

approximately 1 hour 

4 

Jewson’s Shed, Kirkwall, 7.30pm 

MagFest 

Andy Cant! 

Andy has been the creator and guiding spirit 

behind some of Orkney’s – and the Festival’s 

– most memorable tunes and performances. 

Here at last Andy is given carte blanche with his 

own show. His multiplicity of styles, the thickness 

of his contacts book and the breadth of 

his imagination suggest that audiences should 

expect the unexpected! 

approximately 1 hour 45 minutes 

Bester Quartet 

5 


MagFest 


Bester Quartet is a reincarnation of the 

legendary Krakow Klezmer Band. One of 

Poland’s most passionate and creative bands, 

the Quartet blends the traditional Jewish 

music of Eastern Europe with Balkan music 

and elements of contemporary jazz. Bester 

Quartet has become a phenomenon on the 

world music scene and performs to sell-out 

audiences at prestigious venues worldwide. 

‘The sheen of their ensemble sound, the virtuosity 

of their solos and the intelligence and drama of 

their performances easily persuade listeners to 

hang on to every note. When Bester and Dyyak 

played two-accordion passages, with Tyrala’s 

violin singing imploringly in its high register, the 

effect was haunting.’ Chicago Tribune 


Ticket includes admission to the Festival Club 

The Hebrides Ensemble’s Festival 

residency is sponsored by 

Part of 

Sponsored 

by 

Albert Hotel, Kirkwall, 10pm 

Festival Club 

The Chair 

£6 at door or £20 season 

ticket in advance 

2

saturday19june 

Orkney Traditional Music Project 

6 

King Street Halls, Kirkwall, 10.30am 

Coffee Concert 

Orkney Traditional 

Music Project 

The talented young musicians of Orkney 

Traditional Music Project make a welcome 

return to the Festival programme for an hour 

of informal music-making. 

Ticket includes light refreshments 

after the concert. 


7 

Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, 11am 

Simon Armitage 

poetry reading 

Simon Armitage is one of Britain’s most widely 

known and popular poets. He has received 

numerous awards for his work, which includes 

nine poetry collections, several novels and an 

acclaimed translation of the medieval poem 

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He has 

also written extensively for stage, radio and 

television. 

‘Armitage creates a muscular 

but elegant language of his 

own out of slangy, youthful, 

up-to-the-minute jargon 

and the vernacular of his 

native northern England. 

He combines this with an 

easily worn erudition, 

plenty of nous and the 

benefit of unblinkered 

experience…’ 

Sunday Times 

approximately 

1 hour 


Ticket includes a light 

buffet lunch at 12.15pm 

in the Stromness Hotel. 

saturday 19 june 

Sponsored by 

3 

photo: Jonty Wilde


8 

Phoenix Cinema, Pickaquoy Centre, 11.30am 

Chopin as Symbol 

Adrian Thomas 

Professor of Music, Cardiff University 

The Polish poet Leopold Staff once wrote a 

short poem called ‘Townie’, which ended with 

the line, ‘I am afraid of becoming Chopin’. In 

Chopin’s bicentennial year, this talk looks at 

the legacy of his music for both writers and 

composers. Adrian Thomas is a specialist on 

Polish music and a member of the Honorary 

Committee of the ’Fryderyk Chopin 2010’ 

celebrations in the UK. 

approximately I hour 

There is a regular public bus service 

between Kirkwall and Stromness. 

For details, contact the Tourist 

Information Centre, tel: 01856 872856. 

(Journey time 30 minutes) 

9 

Stromness Town Hall, 2.30pm 

Royal String Quartet 

Ewa Kupiec piano 

Beethoven String Quartet in Eb, op.74, ‘Harp’ 

Szymanowski String Quartet no.1 

Chopin Piano Concerto no.2 in F minor 

(piano & string quartet version) 

The award-winning Royal Quartet play one 

of Beethoven’s most beautiful string quartets 

plus two works from their native Poland - 

Szymanowski’s exotic, impressionistic quartet 

and Chopin’s romantic concerto, a work very 

dear to the composer’s heart. The distinguished 

Polish pianist, Ewa Kupiec, joins the Royals for a 

rare performance of the chamber version of this 

lovely piece. 

Part of 

approximately 

2 hours 

recorded 

for future 

broadcast 

on BBC 

Radio 3 

10 

Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, 6.30pm 

Side by Side 

BBC Scottish 

Symphony Orchestra and 

Orkney Schools Orchestra 

Stephen Bell conductor/presenter 

David Flack horn 

Music by Copland, Arnold, Maxwell Davies, 

Elgar, Mozart, Grieg, Chopin, Lutoslawski 

and J Strauss 

photo: KassKara 

Ewa Kupiec 

This very special event is the culmination of a 

6-month project for young musicians. Orkney 

Schools Orchestra joins the BBC SSO to form a 

4

11 

Orkney Schools Orchestra 

combined orchestra of 130 players for this 

family-friendly concert presented by Stephen 

Bell, a conductor renowned for his ability to 

communicate with audiences of all ages. 


sponsored by 


MagFest 


see event 5 

photo: Orkne Photographic 

photo: Sussie Ahlburg 

12 

Håkan Vramsmo 

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 8.30pm 


Håkan Vramsmo baritone 

J Strauss II Emperor Waltz arr. Schoenberg 

Krasa Passacaglia and Fugue 

Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer arr. Schoenberg 

Prokoviev Overture on Hebrew Themes 

Schubert songs 

J Strauss II Roses from the South arr. Schoenberg 

Mahler’s bittersweet songs of love and loss are 

framed by Prokoviev’s irresistible, klezmer-inspired 

overture and the string trio by the brilliant Czech 

Jewish composer Hans Krasa. Schoenberg’s 

arrangements of Strauss’s dazzling waltz melodies 

evoke the musical splendour of 1880s Vienna. 

‘The Hebrides Ensemble confirmed its reputation 

as Scotland’s finest contemporary music group... 

Fluency, technical brilliance and a sense of 

the personal and the epic characterised the 

performance.’ The Daily Telegraph 


13 

Jewson’s Shed, Kirkwall, 10pm 

MagFest 

Andy Cant! 

see event 4 

Ticket includes admission 

to the Festival Club 

Andy Cant 



Festival Club 

Alastair Savage Trio 

£6 at door or £20 season ticket in advance 

5

sunday20june 

6 

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 11.15am 

Festival Service 

conducted by Rev Fraser Macnaughton 

with St Magnus Cathedral Choir 

Buses for Stromness will leave Palace Road at 

12.30pm and return from Stromness Pierhead, 

calling at Stromness Academy, at 6pm. 

A seat on the bus should be booked in advance. 

14 

Stromness Parish Church, 1.15pm 


poetry reading see event 7 


15 

Stromness Town Hall, 2.30pm 

Ewa Kupiec piano 

Chopin Scherzo in C# minor, op. 39 

Four Mazurkas, op. 41 

Waltz in Ab major, op. 42 

Tarantella in Ab major, op. 43 

Polonaise in F# minor, op. 44 

Bacewicz Sonata no. 2 

Chopin Two Nocturnes, op. 48 

Fantasie in F minor, op. 49 

Ewa Kupiec’s performances of Chopin have 

been lauded for their originality and insight. 

This programme features some of Chopin’s most 

inspired piano works plus the second sonata 

by Grazyna Bacewicz, Poland’s most prominent 

female composer. The sonata was first performed 

by its dedicatee, Wladyslaw Szpilman, whose 

extraordinary story is told in the film The Pianist 

(see Monday programme). 

‘Kupiec plays with a rare mixture of spirit, a 

faultless technique, a complete understanding of 

musical texture and an ability to shape music with 

transparency and an impressive richness of colours’. 

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 


Part of 

16 

Stromness Academy Theatre, 5pm 

A Johnsmas Foy 

Home and Migration: 

Stories, Dance, Music, Song 

This year’s Foy explores love, home, migration 

and belonging. Narratives weave together 

through music, dance, writing and song. 

The performance features dance by the Orkney 

Traditional Dance Association, and writing by 

George Mackay Brown, local writers and 

Nalini Paul, GMB Writing Fellow. 

Conceived by Nalini Paul; 

directed by Aimée Leonard. 

approximately 

1 hour

17 


MagFest 

The Table 

Karbido present an extraordinary musictheatre 

piece for four men and a table 

Four poker players emerge from the darkness 

and sit around a table. It’s not a game of poker, 

though, but a fantastic quartet performed on 

the table, which is transformed into a musical 

instrument capable of detecting and amplifying 

the most delicate vibrations. A mesmerising 

performance which takes the audience on an 

acoustic journey round the globe. 

‘Awesome, manic or witty. If it’s difficult to imagine, 

that’s because you’ll never have seen or heard 

anything quite like it’ The Scotsman (5 stars) 

‘An extraordinary musical spectacle’ The Times 

Part of 


18 


BBC Scottish 

Symphony Orchestra 

Martyn Brabbins conductor 

Olga Pasichnyk soprano 

St Magnus Festival Chorus 

Britten 

Poulenc 

Maxwell Davies 

Elgar 

Four Sea Interludes 

Gloria 

new work for choir 

and orchestra 

Enigma Variations 

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 

p 

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sunday 20 june 

Martyn Brabbins conducts a magnificent 

programme featuring two great British 

orchestral works - Britten’s dramatic depiction 

of the sea and Elgar’s inspired portraits of his 

‘friends pictured within’. The distinguished 

Ukrainian-Polish soprano, Olga Pasichnyk, joins 

the Festival Chorus for Poulenc’s joyous Gloria, 

and choir and orchestra perform a new work, 

composed specially for the occasion, by 

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. 


sponsored by 

Martyn 

Brabbins 

photo: Sasha Gusov 

Olga 

Pasichnyk 

7 

photo: B. Wielgosz

sunday 20 june 

19 



Górecki 

Quartet no. 3 ‘…songs are sung’ 

Polish composer Henryk Górecki achieved 

huge world-wide popularity in the 1990s with 

his elegiac third symphony, the ‘Symphony of 

Sorrowful Songs’. His third quartet, ‘...songs are 

sung’, is a similarly intense and meditative work, 

perfectly suited to the late-night ambience of 

St Magnus Cathedral and to the expressive 

playing of the Royal Quartet. 


Ticket includes admission to the Festival Club 

Part of 

8 

20 


MagFest 

The Table 

see event 17 

Ticket includes admission 

to the Festival Club 


Festival Club 

Three Peace Sweet 



photo: Blow Up Agency Poland 

monday21june

When 

Festival Supporters 

Priority booking for Benefactors opens on Monday 29 March. 

Priority booking for Patrons and Friends opens on Monday 5 April. 

During the priority booking period, postal bookings only are 

accepted. 

The priority booking period ends on Thursday 15 April. 

General booking 

From Monday 19 April, by post, fax, in person and online. 

From Tuesday 20 April by phone. 

How 

By post, using the booking form overleaf, to 

St Magnus Festival Box Office, 

60 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1DN. 

By phone, to +44 (0) 1856 871445. 

By fax, to +44 (0) 1856 871170 

(please phone to check your fax has arrived) 

In person, at the St Magnus Festival office, 

60 Victoria Street, Kirkwall. 

Online at: www.stmagnusfestival.com 

Box Office opening hours 

19 - 24 April: Monday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm 

26 April - 12 June: Monday - Saturday, 11am - 3pm 

14 June - 23 June, 10am - 5pm 

Cheques 

Please make cheques payable to St Magnus Festival. 

When booking by post, please do not 

fill in the actual amount but write 

horizontally across the cheque a 

maximum upper limit (to match 

the total on your booking form) 

e.g. ‘not exceeding £50’. 

Seat allocation 

All Supporters’ priority bookings received before the opening date are 

pooled, with tickets for each performance being randomly distributed 

among the ‘early birds’. Once booking has opened, orders are dealt with in 

order of arrival. 

St Magnus Cathedral is a wonderful building but it is not a concert hall. 

We hope that audiences will agree that the special ambience compensates 

for the lack of perfect sightlines. Seats are allocated starting from the front 

of the Nave. Once all the Nave seats have been sold, unreserved seats are 

allocated in the transepts and side aisles. Unreserved seats are sold at a 

reduced price, since some of these seats offer limited or no view of the 

performance area. 

Pickaquoy Centre and Stromness Town Hall also have an allocation of 

unreserved seats which are sold at a reduced price once all the reserved 

seats have been sold. 

If you have special seating requirements, a query regarding access, or 

wish to make a booking for a wheelchair user, please contact the Festival 

office. We will do our best to satisfy seating requests at all venues. 

Festival Supporters 

Festival Supporters make a valuable contribution towards the success of the 

Festival and help to secure its future development. Three levels of support 

are available, all of which enable Supporters to enjoy special privileges such 

as priority booking. 

For full details of Supporters’ benefits, see inside back cover. 

The Festival can claim Gift Aid on your Support if you are a UK taxpayer - 

please sign the declaration on the booking form to enable us to do this. 

Festival transport 

Most Festival events take place in Kirkwall or Stromness which are 16 miles 

apart. On weekdays and Saturdays there is a regular daytime bus service 

(details from the Tourist Information Centres in Kirkwall or Stromness). 

On Festival Sunday, transport to and from Stromness is provided 

(see Sunday programme details). 

The concerts in Deerness, Birsay and the Italian Chapel are 

Festival excursions and transport is included in the ticket price. 

ticket booking

event full price concession No. of full price No. of concessions total 

monday sunday 

saturday friday 

1a preview The Doctor and the Devils (7.30pm) £7 £4 

event 1 The Doctor and the Devils (7pm) £8 £5 

event 2 Le Jongleur de Notre Dame (7pm) £12 £7 

event 3 Le Jongleur de Notre Dame (9.30pm) £12 £7 

event 4 Andy Cant! (7.30pm) £10 £6 

event 5 Bester Quartet (10.30pm) £12 £7 

event 6 OTMP Coffee Concert (10.30am) £6 £4 

event 7 Simon Armitage (11am) £10 £6 

event 8 Chopin as Symbol (11.30am) £6 £4 

event 9 Royal String Quartet (2.30pm) £13 £8 

event 10 Side by Side (6.30pm) £8 £4 

event 11 Bester Quartet (7.30pm) £12 £7 

event 12 Hebrides Ensemble (8.30pm) £13 £8 

event 13 Andy Cant! (10pm) £10 £6 

Stromness Bus dep Kirkwall 12.30pm; dep Stromness 6pm £6 - 

event 14 Simon Armitage (1.15pm) £7 £4 

event 15 Ewa Kupiec (2.30pm) £13 £8 

event 16 Johnsmas Foy (5pm) £7 £4 

event 17 The Table (6pm) £12 £7 

event 18 BBC SSO (7.30pm) £16 £9 

event 19 Royal String Quartet (10.15pm) £9 £5 

event 20 The Table (10.15pm) £12 £7 

event 21 Simon Armitage (11am) £7 £4 

event 22 Hebrides Ensemble (1pm) £9 £5 

event 23 Deerness Excursion (dep. 2.30pm) £15 £8 

event 24 The Table (6pm) £12 £7 

event 25 BBC SSO (7.30pm) £16 £9 

continued 

sub total 

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event full price concession No. of full price No. of concessions total 

wednesday tuesday mon 

event 26 Trebunie Tutki (10pm) £12 £7 

event 27 Chopin Impressions (10.15pm) £9 £5 

event 28 Johnsmas Foy (11am) £7 £4 

event 29 Nicola Benedetti (1pm) £12 £7 

event 30 Italian Chapel (dep. 2.40pm) £12 £8 

event 31 The Doctor and the Devils (6pm) £8 £5 

event 32 Circulous! (6.30pm) £12 £7 

event 33 Cries from the Heart (8.30pm) £13 £7 


event 35 Andrzej Bauer/Krzysztof Broja (11am) £9 £5 

event 36 Olga & Natalya Pasichnyk (1pm) £9 £5 

event 37 Birsay Excursion (dep. 2.30pm) £15 £8 

event 38 St Magnus Composers’ Concert (6pm) £9 £5 


event 40 BBC SSO (8pm) £16 £8 


event 42 The Doctor and the Devils (7.30pm) £8 £5 

OCC pass £20 - 

Festival Club pass £20 - 

Concessions are available for schoolchildren, full-time students 

and people who are registered unemployed. 

In the concession column, please indicate 

C (child), S (student), U (unemployed). 

During the priority booking period, 

Individual Friends are entitled to buy 1 ticket per event, 

Joint Friends 2 tickets per event. 

Individual Patrons are entitled to buy 2 tickets per event, 

Joint Patrons 4 tickets per event. 

Individual Benefactors are entitled to buy 2 tickets per event, 

Joint Benefactors 4 tickets per event. 

See inside back cover for full details. 

Please tick if 2010 Festival 

Support already paid: 

Supporter No. 

Support paid now 

£ 

£ 

£ 

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total for tickets etc 

£ 

Friend - individual £25; joint £40 

£ 

outer isles residents - individual £13; joint £22 £ 

Patron - individual £50; joint £80 

£ 

Benefactors - individual £150; joint £250 

(minimum donation) £ 

general donation 

£ 

handling charge (postal bookings only) £ 1 . 0 0 

maximum amount (see booking information) £ 

continued overleaf

ticket booking 

I would like to pay by Cheque 

or by Switch Visa Mastercard 

Switch issue no. 

Card no. 

(Please make cheque payable to St Magnus Festival) 

3 digit security code Valid from Card expiry date 

Signature Date / / 

name 

address 

postcode 

date / / 2010 tel no. e-mail address 

Please indicate where you heard about the Festival: 

Gift Aid: 

I would like the St Magnus Festival to treat the enclosed 

Supporters’ payment/donation as a Gift Aid donation. I pay an 

amount of Income Tax (or Capital Gains Tax) at least equal to 

the tax the St Magnus Festival will reclaim on my donation. 

signature date / / 2010 

please print name 

notes: 

• Concessions are available for schoolchildren, full-time students and registered unemployed. 

• Allow 10 working days for processing of postal applications. 

• Tickets are non-refundable. 

• If you have any special seating requirements, please indicate when ordering tickets. 

• For advice on access to venues, or for general Festival information, contact the 

Festival Office, tel: 01856 871445 or email: info@stmagnusfestival.com 

• St Magnus Festival reserves the right to change the programme without prior notice. 

• Your details will not be passed on by us to any other party. 

St Magnus Festival, 60 Victoria Street, Kirkwall Orkney, KW15 1DN. tel: +44(0)1856 871445 

A company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland no.73825. 

A recognised Scottish charity, No. SC011666 

Please detach the completed form and return it to the Festival Office, 60 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney. KW15 1DN

21 

King Street Halls, Kirkwall, 11am 


poetry reading see event 7 

22 

St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, 1pm 


Members of the BBC SSO* 

William Conway conductor* 

Bach 

Prelude and Fugue in 

arr. Maxwell Davies C# minor 

Aleksander Kosciow Ore Osse Oculo 

Maxwell Davies Scottish Renaissance 

Dances 

Lewis Forbes Play Piece 

commissioned by 

Robert Clark and Susan Costello 

Lutoslawski 

Dance Preludes 

Pawel Mykietyn Three for Thirteen* 

Hebrides Ensemble’s typically adventurous 

programme draws together the Scottish and 

Polish strands in our programme. A new 

work by a talented composer from the 2009 

Composers’ Course is presented alongside 

music by our two Polish guest composers. 

Maxwell Davies’s Scottish Dances find echoes 

in Lutoslawski’s witty Dance Preludes, and the 

two works which frame the programme find 

inspiration in the music of the 18th century. 

approximately 

1 hour 

p 

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23 

depart Palace Road, Kirkwall, 2.30pm 

St Ninian’s Church, Deerness, 3.15pm 

Festival Excursion 


with Andrzej Bauer cello 

Schubert String Quintet in C 

Almost an island, Orkney’s most easterly parish 

of Deerness is connected to the mainland by a 

narrow sandy isthmus. The lovely little St Ninian’s 

Church, situated on the shore, is the venue for 

this concert. The eminent cellist, Andrzej Bauer, 

joins the Royal Quartet to perform one of the 

most sublime pieces of chamber music. 


recorded for future broadcast on Radio 3 

Andrzej 

Bauer 

Buses leave Palace Road, Kirkwall, at 2.30pm, 

arriving back at 5.45pm. Ticket includes 

transport and light refreshments. Parking is 

limited: use of Festival buses is advised. 

Part of 

Phoenix Cinema, Pickaquoy Centre, 3pm 

Festival Film The Pianist 

Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning film is based 

on the extraordinary story of Polish musician 

Wladyslaw Szpilman. Set in Warsaw in World War 

II, The Pianist features music by Chopin, Bach and 

contemporary Polish composer, Wojciech Kilar. 

Tickets from the Pickaquoy Centre, 

tel: 01856 879900 

running time 

2 hour 20 minutes 

St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall, 6pm 

The History of Orkney 

Literature Book launch 

From the skalds and sagamen of the Viking age 

to the colourful folklorists and translators of the 

Victorian era and the internationally acclaimed 

poets and novelists of the twentieth century, 

Orkney has developed a unique literary culture 

of its own. Dr. Simon Hall launches his new book 

The History of Orkney Literature with this lively 

tour through the history of Orkney writing, with 

readings in English and Orcadian vernacular. 

approximately 45 minutes 

24 


MagFest 

The Table see event 17 

monday 21 june 

sponsored by 

admission free 

9

monday 21 june 

25 


BBC Scottish 


Michal Dworzynski conductor 

Olga Pasichnyk soprano 

Karlowicz Symphonic Prologue from 

‘Music for the White Dove’ 

Lutoslawski Chantefleurs et Chantefables 

Ravel Mother Goose Suite 

Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 4 

Polish conductor Michael Dworzynski opens this 

delightful programme with a romantic work by 

his compatriot, Karlowicz, and closes it with one 

of the greatest Russian symphonies. In between 

we hear two magical evocations of childhood 

- Lutoslawski’s delicate ‘Song-flowers and Songstories’ 

and Ravel’s charming French fairytales. 

‘Michal Dworzynski is a huge talent... one of the 

most electric young conductors in the business’ 

The Herald 

Michael 

Dworzynski 

10 

‘The singing of Olga 

Pasichnyk [in ‘Chantefleurs et 

Chantefables’] is outstanding’ 

Gramophone magazine 

approximately 

2 hours 10 minutes 

recorded for future broadcast 

on BBC Radio 3 

Part of 

26 


MagFest 

Trebunie Tutki 


Trebunie Tutki is a family band from Poland’s 

Tatra mountains. Playing fiddles, flutes, ‘regional’ 

cello, bass, bagpipes and wooden horn, these 

remarkable, award-winning musicians combine 

their own ‘highlander’ music with contemporary 

influences. The band’s distinctive sound is 

coupled with traditional costumes and dance to 

create a vibrant, colourful and unmissable show. 


Ticket includes 

admission to 

the Festival Club 

Part of 

27 


Chopin Impressions 

Leszek Mozdzer 

jazz piano 

Award-winning pianist, composer and 

arranger, Leszek Mozdzer is one of the finest 

Polish jazz musicians to have emerged in the 

past decade. His breathtaking improvisations 

on themes by Chopin demonstrate his 

immense technical prowess and musicality 

and have reinforced his position as one of the 

great virtuosi of the European jazz scene. 

approximately 

1 hour 

Ticket includes 

admission to the 

Festival Club 

Part of 


Festival Club 

Lone Star Swing 


Leszek 

Mozdzer

28 

30 

tuesday 22 june 

tuesday22june 

Nicola 

Benedetti 


A Johnsmas Foy 

Home and Migration: 

Stories, Dance, Music, Song 

see event 16 

29 


Nicola Benedetti violin 

Alexei Grynyuk piano 

Prokoviev Sonata no.1 in F minor, op. 80 

Brahms Sonata no. 3 in D minor, op. 108 

Nicola Benedetti has 

captivated audiences 

and critics alike with her 

musicality, poise and 

radiant performances. 

Making her St Magnus 

debut, Nicola is joined 

by Ukrainian pianist 

Alexei Grynyuk to 

perform two masterworks: 

Prokoviev’s virtuosic, darkhued 

first sonata 

and Brahms’ autumnal, 

final work for violin 

and piano. 



Italian Chapel, 3.15pm 

Music in the 

Italian Chapel 

Andrzej Bauer cello 

The beautiful Italian Chapel provides an intimate 

setting for a recital by one of Poland’s finest 

cellists. Andrzej Bauer plays two of Bach’s great 

suites for solo cello and a work specially written 

for him by our guest composer, Pawel Mykietyn. 

Festival excursion: 

Buses leave Palace Road, 

Kirkwall, at 2.40pm, 

arriving back at 5pm. 

Part of 

Phoenix Cinema, Pickaquoy Centre, 4pm & 6pm 

Festival Film 

The Full Monteverdi 

John La Bouchardière’s award-winning film s 

tarring I Fagiolini transforms Monteverdi’s 4th 

Book of Madrigals into a highly charged and 

moving portrait of contemporary love. A film to 

whet your appetite for this evening’s concert by 

the celebrated vocal ensemble. 

‘A brilliant film - a searing dramatisation’ The Times 

running time 1 hour 

£5 at door 

11

tuesday 22 june 

31 

Orkney Arts Theatre, Kirkwall, 6pm 

The Doctor 

and the Devils 

see event 1 

32 


MagFest 

Circulous! 

Prepare to be amazed by our stunning selection 

of physical performers. Expect spectacular 

martial arts, breathtaking roller skating, 

contemporary clowning and awe-inspiring 

acrobatics; but be sure that everything you 

see will have a very particular twist of its own. 

Charlie Holland, creator of Oiseau Rouge and 

Faring, brings his cast together from Germany, 

Holland, Australia, New Zealand and the UK - 

for these four shows only! 

sponsored by 

approximately 

1 hour 10 minutes 

33 


Cries from the Heart 

I Fagiolini 

Monteverdi 

Poulenc 

Monteverdi 

Berio 

Madrigals from Books IV-VIII 

Sept Chansons 

Lamento d’Arianna 

Cries of London 

Britain’s leading solo-voice ensemble is strongly 

associated with Monteverdi, a composer whose 

music, written 400 years ago, still has the power 

to move listeners today. Poulenc had been 

working on Monteverdi’s madrigals before writing 

his Sept Chansons in 1936. Cries of London is a 

comic and virtuosic play on the Tudor custom of 

incorporating street cries into consort works. 

‘The sheer wit and charm of I Fagiolini’s singing and 

acting tend to obscure the high musical standards of 

everything they do.’ The Guardian 


recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3 

34 


MagFest 

Circulous! 

see event 32 

12 

photo: Eric Richmond 


Festival Club 

Leszek Mozdzer 

jazz piano 

£6 at door or £20 season ticket in advance

wednesday23june 

35 


Andrzej Bauer 

cello 

Jan Krzysztof Broja 

piano 

Couperin Pièces en Concert 

arr. P Bazelaire 

Bauer Frattoriale 

Paderewski Nocturne 

arr. A Bauer 

Chopin Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 65 

Two linked concerts by distinguished Polish artists 

conclude our celebration of the music of Chopin. 

This morning we hear his 

passionate sonata for 

cello and piano, while 

our lunchtime recital 

features Chopin as song 

writer. The cello sonata 

was his last major work 

and the piano part was 

played by Chopin 

himself at his last 

public concert. 


Coffee and tea will be 

served downstairs in 

The Hub from 10.15am. 

p 

WORLD 

r 

e m 

è 

i 

e 

r 

Jan Krzysztof Broja 

Part of 

36 

wednesday 23 june 


Olga Pasichnyk 

soprano 

Natalya Pasichnyk 

piano 

Songs by Chopin, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, 

Rachmaninov, Lysenko and Ukrainian folk songs 

The seventeen songs which Chopin produced 

in his short life are as musically rich as any of 

his études or mazurkas and contain a wealth 

of beautiful piano writing. Olga and Natalya 

Pasichnyk perform Chopin’s Polish songs in a 

colourful, Slavonic programme which includes 

folksongs from the sisters’ native Ukraine. 

Olga and 

Natalya Pasichnyk 


recorded for future 

broadcast on BBC Radio 3 

13

wednesday 23 june 

37 


St Magnus Church, Birsay, 3.15pm 

Excursion to Birsay 

I Fagiolini 

Our ever-popular excursion to the north-west 

tip of the Orkney mainland for a concert in 

St Magnus Church, built on the site of the 

mediaeval Christ’s Kirk. I Fagiolini’s vocal 

kaleidoscope encompasses 16th century 

madrigals, Britten’s Sacred and Profane, folk 

song arrangements and Flanders and Swan. 

38 

King Street Halls, Kirkwall, 6pm 

St Magnus 

Composers’ Concert 


Eight world premières in one concert! With the 

ink barely dry, the eight new pieces created over 

the past ten days by the talented composers of 

the Orkney Composing Course are premièred 

by the Hebrides Ensemble, directed by the 

conductors of Orkney Conducting Course. 


14 

Buses leave Palace Road, Kirkwall, at 

2.30pm, arriving back at 5.30pm. Ticket 

includes transport and light refreshments. 

Parking is limited: use of Festival buses 

is advised. 

p 

r 

WORLD 

e m 

i è 

s 

e 

r 

39 


MagFest 

Circulous! See event 32 

40 

Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, 8pm 

BBC Scottish 


Michal Dworzynski conductor 

Nicola Benedetti violin 

Beethoven Symphony no. 8 in F 

Szymanowski Violin Concerto no. 1 

Maxwell Davies Overture: St Francis of Assisi 

Stravinsky The Firebird Suite 

At the heart of this glittering programme is 

Nicola Benedetti’s performance of Szymanowski’s 

rhapsodic concerto, a work Nicola has made 

very much her own. The BBC SSO rounds off its 

Orkney residency and brings the 2010 Festival to 

a close with Stravinsky’s thrilling and gorgeously 

orchestrated showpiece. 

‘Benedetti was absolutely on top of the winding, 

ornamental curve of the long violin melodies. 

Her mix of tenderness and intensity was alluring.’ 

The Herald 

approximately 

2 hours 10 minutes 

sponsored by 

41 


MagFest 

Circulous! See event 32 


Festival Club 


& Saltfishforty 


friday 25 June 

42 

Orkney Arts Theatre, Kirkwall, 7.30pm 

another chance to see … 

The Doctor 

and the Devils 

see event 1

Festival on Tour 

Festival on Tour Pier 

BBC SSO Ensembles 

is sponsored by 

Tuesday 22 June 

Eday School, 7.30pm 

Stronsay School, 7.30pm 


Tuesday 22 June 

Gable End Theatre, Hoy, 8pm 

Inchcolm New Music Ensemble 

Steve King director 

The new music group of Heriot-Watt University performs 

music inspired by the plainchant of Inchcolm Abbey. 

Wednesday 23 June 

Moncur Memorial Church, Stronsay, 4pm 

Exhibitions 

Arts Centre, Stromness 

STONE project and 

Milestone Carve 

The Pier Arts Centre celebrates the art of 

stone carving with an exhibition of work by 

11 international sculptors, created at a unique 

live carving event at Edinburgh College of Art 

last year. 

Orkney Museum, Tankerness House, Kirkwall 

Orkney’s War: 

Their Darkest Hour 

The story of World War II in Orkney, told through firsthand 

accounts, photographs and artefacts. In the early 

part of the war, Orkney was in the front line of enemy 

attack from bombers and U-boats, while Scapa Flow 

was starting place for many major sea battles. 

photo: Jake Harvey 

Franco Barattini Hand 

with Statuario Marble, 

Cave Michaelangelo Quarry, 

Carrara, Italy 2008 

HMS Hood, Scapa Flow 

Thursday 24 June 


Friday 25 June 

Noltland Castle, Westray, 4pm 

Admission at door for all Festival on Tour events. 

For details of transport to the isles, contact Orkney Ferries, 

01856 2044 or Loganair, 01856 872494. 

Stromness Museum 

Stromness 

Maritime Merchants: 

Trades and Industries 

that forged the Town 

A celebration of the trades and industries 

that created modern-day Stromness. 

Victorian Stromness 

15

Orkney Conducting Course 14-23 June St Magnus Composers’ Course 

Orkney Conducting Course is directed by Sian Edwards and Charles 

Peebles. Initial sessions with two pianos prepare students for two days 

of hands-on experience with the BBC SSO and the Hebrides Ensemble. 

OCC conductors also collaborate with the composers of St Magnus Composers’ 

Course and on Wednesday 23 June they conduct a concert of new 

music composed by SMCC participants. OCC pianists are Elizabeth Burley 

and Michael Bawtree. 

Observers are welcome to attend the 2-piano sessions which are held 

between 14 and 21 June from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm (except on 

the afternoons of 17 and 20 June). Other open sessions are: 

Wednesday 17 7.30pm-10pm Festival Chorus rehearsal 

Pickaquoy Centre 

Saturday 19 10am-1pm Hebrides Ensemble 

with Alison Wells soprano 

Pierrot Lunaire 

Sunday 20 2pm-5pm operatic and oratorio repertoire 

with Håkan Vramsmo baritone 

Tuesday 22 10am-1pm BBC SSO 

2.30pm-5.30pm 

Pickaquoy Centre 

6.30pm-9.30pm 

rehearsal of SMCC pieces 

with Hebrides Ensemble 

All sessions in St Magnus Centre unless otherwise indicated 

£20 season ticket in advance or £3 per session at door 

St Magnus Composers’ Course is directed by composers Alasdair Nicolson 

and Sally Beamish. Eight composers work with the Hebrides Ensemble in 

developing and rehearsing new compositions and the course culminates in a 

Festival performance of the music created over the ten days. 

Observers are welcome to attend the following sessions, which are 

held in the Congregational Church, opposite St Magnus Centre, unless 

otherwise stated: 

Thursday 17 10am-1pm workshop with Hebrides Ensemble 

Friday 18 10am-12 noon workshop with Hebrides Ensemble 

Saturday 19 2.30pm-5.30pm writing for the voice 

with Alison Wells soprano 

Sunday 20 10am-1pm Pawel Mykietyn and Aleksander 

St Magnus Centre Kosciow introduce their music, 

followed by an open rehearsal of 

Mykietyn’s 3 for 13 (see event 22)*. 

2.30pm-5.30pm workshop with Hebrides Ensemble 

Monday 21 9am-12 noon writing for amateur musicians 

Christian Life Centre, with Inchcolm New Music Ensemble 

East Road 

4pm-7pm 

workshop with Hebrides Ensemble 

Tuesday 22 10am-11am Sir Peter Maxwell Davies analyses one 

St Magnus Centre of Bach’s cello suites, with 

Andrzej Bauer cello 

6.30pm-9.30pm 

St Magnus Centre 

rehearsal with Hebrides Ensemble and 

OCC conductors 

Admission free to holders of OCC passes; 

alternatively, £3 per session at door 

Orkney Conducting Course and St Magnus Composers' Course are supported by: 

Radcliffe Trust 

Hope Scott Trust 

Binks Trust 

*

supporting the Festival 

The St Magnus Festival 

has been at the heart of Orkney’s cultural life for 

over 30 years, presenting an annual programme of 

entertaining, stimulating and sometimes challenging 

performances all set against the background of 

Orkney at midsummer. 

Income from ticket sales provides only 20% of the 

funds needed to stage the Festival; the remaining 80% 

has to be raised annually through grants, sponsorships 

and donations. So the contributions of our Supporters 

are highly valued and are important in helping us 

maintain the quality of Festival performances and all 

the associated community and education projects. 

You can help by becoming a Festival Supporter. Three 

levels of support are available, all of which enable you 

to enjoy special privileges such as priority booking. 

Levels of Support (per year) 

Friend 

Individual £25; joint £40* 

(outer isles residents: £13 individual; £22 joint*) 

• Advance mailing of the Festival brochure in late 

March 2010 

• Priority booking 

• Invitation to the brochure launch 

• Festival newsletters 

• Invitation to previews of Festival exhibitions 

During the priority booking period, individual Friends 

are entitled to buy 1 ticket, joint Friends 2 tickets 

per event. 

Friends’ priority booking opens on 5 April. 

* Joint rates apply to two people at the same address. 

Patron 

Individual £50; joint £80* All the above benefits plus: 

• Your name credited in the Festival Programme Book 

During the priority booking period, individual Patrons are entitled to buy 

2 tickets, joint Patrons 4 tickets per event. 

Patrons’ priority booking opens on 5 April. 

Benefactor 

Individual £150; joint £250* (minimum donation) 

All the above benefits plus: 

• One week’s priority booking in advance of Friends and Patrons 

• Your name credited in the Festival Programme Book 

as a Festival Benefactor 

• Invitation to the Festival Opening Reception 

• Invitation to a Benefactors’ Reception with Festival artists 

During the priority booking period, single Benefactors are entitled to buy 

2 tickets, joint Benefactors 4 tickets per event. 

Benefactors’ priority booking opens on 29 March. 

Courtesy of Northlink Ferries, Festival Supporters are offered a 30% reduction 

on passenger and vehicle rates (excluding cabins) on the Scrabster- 

Stromness and Aberdeen-Kirkwall routes. The offer is available for Festival 

travel to and from Orkney between 11th June and 3rd July. 

For information on how to make a booking, 

contact the Festival office on 01856 871445 

or email info@stmagnusfestival.com 

We are proud of the Festival’s achievements, both within the Orkney 

community and the wider arts world. If you would like to help us 

develop our work, please consider becoming a Supporter.

St Magnus Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of: 

The Radcliffe Trust 

PF Charitable Trust 

Craignish Trust Hope Scott Trust Hugh Fraser Foundation 

Russell Trust Binks Trust Angus Allnat Charitable Foundation 

www.stmagnusfestival.com 

design: Iain Ashman Design

ORKNEY ISLANDS 18-23 JUNE 2010

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