The Royal Scottish National Orchestra's Glasgow concert tonight has had to be cancelled because of what my Scots godson, in far less extreme conditions down in the Borders, once described as "horrifying wind and rain". The programme? The Suite from Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden, about a northern people in the grip of extended bad winter weather until the icy heroine should be melted by the rays of love, and the second act of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, where admittedly it's in the first that ballerina snowflakes eventually get tossed around in a storm and the heroine heads off with her Nutcracker Prince to the indoor warmth of Sweetieland. The RSNO expects tomorrow's Edinburgh concert of the same programme to go ahead as planned and is offering full refunds.
reviews, news & interviews
No go Glasgow's SNO Maiden
Adverse weather conditions temporarily see off two winter favourites
Russian artist Vasnetsov's picture of the Snow Maiden immortalised by Rimsky-Korsakov
the future of arts journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more classical music
Circa's acrobatics bracingly express a philosophical idea of the body
Messiaen’s 'Turangalîla' well played, but overwhelmed by a trivialising animation
A famous conductor celebrated in box form, plus romantic piano music and English song
A scenic journey through 20th and 21st century landscapes
Fiddly but felt, the interpretations of the ICO's Norwegian violinist-director always compel
Tenderness, and terror, outshine majesty in Elgar's journey of the soul
At the World's Edge festival travels from mountains to metropolis
This semi-dramatised evening was as illuminating as it was exhilarating
Secret handshakes between works that weathered trauma
Orchestral music without a conductor has its own unique frisson
Three choral blockbusters, plus fiery symphonies and percussive contemporary music
Eagerness and skill from the musicians of tomorrow
Add comment