University premiere for MacRae's 'Ixiom'
Published: 21 November 2014
A new work by the Scottish composer Stuart MacRae called 'Ixiom' premiered at the annual McEwen Memorial Concert of Scottish Chamber Music in the University concert hall earlier this month.
The McEwen Memorial Concert of Scottish Chamber Music is an annual event funded by the McEwen Bequest and was established in 1955. The Bequest is named after Sir John Blackwood McEwen, who was himself a composer as well as Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London. The bequest aims to support and promote chamber music by composers who have strong links with Scotland, either through birth, descent, or significant residency.
A new work by Scottish composer Stuart MacRae entitled Ixion was premiered on 6 November in the University Concert Hall by performers Yann Ghiro (clarinet), Duncan Strachan (cello), and Simon Smith (piano). Stuart MacRae's website.
The piece takes its title from the Greek myth in which Ixion is tricked by Zeus into seducing a cloud (Nephele) in the shape of Zeus’s wife, Hera; his eternal punishment is to be fixed to a burning wheel in the heavens.
Dr. Jane Stanley, Lecturer in Music, has been curating the McEwen concerts since 2009. Other renowned composers who have received commissions include David Fennessy, Helen Grime, Hafliði Hallgrímsson, and William Sweeney.
Information about the history of the McEwen Commissions, including sound clips, can be accessed here: www.glasgow.ac.uk/mcewen
L to R: Duncan Strachan (cello), Yann Ghiro (clarinet), Dr Jane Stanley (curator of McEwen Bequest), Simon Smith (piano), Stuart MacRae (composer)
First published: 21 November 2014
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