Name: Christmas Classics in Aberdeen
Start: 2023-12-22T19:30:00
Location: Music Hall

Jamie MacDougall

Roderick Dunk

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Steve Reich’s music is made of movement. Patterns shift, collide, and reform. The smallest rhythm grows into something vast. A single chord can shimmer like glass.

In Three Movements, the music constantly moves and turns. Repeating figures stretch and ripple until you lose track of where the downbeat lands. Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards is a kaleidoscope of colour. Chords slide past one another, glowing one moment, dissolving the next.

Electric Counterpoint, written for both pre-recorded and live guitars, turns repetition into a trance. With Bryce Dessner at its heart, expect a sound both mechanical and deeply human. Then The Four Sections pulls the whole orchestra into Reich’s pulsing universe – strings, winds, brass and percussion stacked into layers that vibrate with raw power.

Steve Reich at 90: The Four Sections

The Glasshouse International Centre for Music

From music as bracing and exhilarating as a midnight sleigh-ride, to the comforts of familiar seasonal favourites, the BBC SSO invites you to an evening of Christmas orchestral magic. Enjoy instantly recognisable melodies of Yuletide carols and festive songs, all wrapped up in the luxurious sound of a live orchestra and hosted by the wonderful Jamie MacDougall. Book now, for a concert that’s brimming with festive good cheer and the perfect kick-start to your seasonal celebrations.