“Clever, original, and even inspired moments […]”. So summarises the 19th-century music critic Eduard Hanslick Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6, a symphony of grandeur and solemnity. For his “Finale” Bruckner was inspired by and quotes from Wagner’s “Love Death” from Tristan and Isolde. However, it is not Bruckner’s inspiration that stands in the centre of Capella Edina’s inaugural concert, it is John Williams’.

Much celebrated by film-lovers worldwide John Williams shows how deeply rooted film music is in classical orchestral writings and that it even continues this tradition. One major form of inspiration while working on the soundtrack for Star Wars was Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s King’s Row, a film score written by a classical composer. Then Bruckner adds to Williams’ influences with his Symphony No. 6.

Closing the evening, a commission by James Clay, Capella Edina’s Composer in Residence, will again reflect on the different influences that make up a composer’s toolkit and show the connection between old and new.

This concert will form the inaugural concert of Capella Edina, the City of Edinburgh’s symphony orchestra.

Are you ready to be inspired?