The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) brought a vibrant, popular, all-American compositional line-up to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall under the wise baton of associate artist Kellen Gray on a damp Edinburgh 9 October evening.
Framing the evening around how folk, jazz, cinema and musical theatre intersect with the symphonic tradition, the performance offered an enjoyable snapshot of 20th-century American music.
Aaron Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring Suite opened the night. The RSNO captured its trademark open-air feel with crisp, clear woodwinds and precise balance, lending the famous variation on the Shaker tune ‘Simple Gifts’ an unsentimental beauty.
Due to an injury to scheduled pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, due to receive its belated Scottish premiere, was replaced by film composer John Williams’ Three Pieces from Schindler’s List.
RSNO Leader Maya Iwabuchi stepped up brilliantly as violin soloist. Her playing brought deep, soulful warmth to the main themes, balancing emotional intensity with the subtle orchestral accompaniment. While missing Price’s concerto was a loss, Iwabuchi’s poignant performance kept the audience fully engaged.
After the interval, the spotlight turned to William Grant Still’s Harlem-style Symphony No. 1 (‘Afro-American’). Written in 1930, the piece seamlessly weaves blues progressions, jazz syncopation, nods to the Spirituals and banjo rhythms into a classic four-movement symphonic form.
Gray and the orchestra struck just the right tone – allowing the bluesy trumpet solos and swing rhythms to feel authentic and alive without losing orchestral polish. Still’s music is getting wider recognition once again, and the RSNO treated it with the care and energy it demands.
The concert closed on a high-spirited note with Leonard Bernstein’s electrifying Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Condensed and reworked from the iconic 1957 musical into a thrilling 23-minute suite, the orchestra seamlessly shifted from the fiery, snap-fingered tension of the ‘Prologue’ and ‘Mambo’ to the dreamlike tenderness of ‘Somewhere’ and ‘Maria’. The heavy percussion and complex jazz-tinged rhythms kept the energy elevanted, but Gray also kept the delivery tight, bouncy and impeccably controlled.
Ultimately, this was a highly satisfying evening of music-making. By treating these popular, accessible American classics with respect, detail and genuine feeling, the RSNO proved once again why its programming and performances remain among the most enticing around.
