our 40th-anniversary concert
generously supported by the stevenston charitable trust
maria włoszczowska violin alasdair beatson piano
Sunday 4 October 2026, 3pm · St Mary's Parish Church, Haddington
MOZART Sonata in E flat, K.302
ELECTRA PERIVOLARIS Within the drifting contours of the land...
SCHUBERT Grand Duo in A, D.574
PERIVOLARIS A Way Through 40th-anniversary commission*
RICHARD STRAUSS Sonata in E flat, Op.18
* joint world première of a new work for solo piano by Electra Perivolaris commissioned by Haddington Concert Society and Classic Music Live! Falkirk in celebration of our respective fortieth anniversaries.
ELECTRA PERIVOLARIS Within the drifting contours of the land...
SCHUBERT Grand Duo in A, D.574
PERIVOLARIS A Way Through 40th-anniversary commission*
RICHARD STRAUSS Sonata in E flat, Op.18
* joint world première of a new work for solo piano by Electra Perivolaris commissioned by Haddington Concert Society and Classic Music Live! Falkirk in celebration of our respective fortieth anniversaries.
For our 40th-birthday celebration, we are thrilled to welcome the brilliant Maria Włoszczowska and Alasdair Beatson, our new Patron, in a wonderful programme with our special anniversary commission at its heart, composed by the young Scottish-Greek composer Electra Perivolaris and inspired by the landscapes and heritage of East Lothian and Falkirk.
Electra writes:
A Way Through was composed for the joint 40th anniversary celebrations of Haddington Concert Society and Classic Music Live! Falkirk. Its inspiration comes from the John Muir Way, a long- distance walking route that links Falkirk and Haddington across Scotland's central belt. Named after the pioneering naturalist, conservationist and writer John Muir (1 838-1 91 4), who was born in Dunbar, East Lothian, the route celebrates Scotland's landscapes and the connections between its communities.
During the composition of the work I visited both Falkirk and Haddington, where I was welcomed with extraordinary generosity. I am deeply grateful to Fiona Finch, Richard Dyer, Gordon Bellingham, John McMillan and the many others who shared their knowledge, enthusiasm and hospitality, introducing me to the rich history, landscapes and musical life of the two towns. From the monumental Kelpies and the Antonine Wall in Falkirk to the grandeur of St Mary's Church in Haddington, the stories of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Rough Wooing, and the surrounding East Lothian landscape of Traprain Law and the distant Bass Rock, these experiences became an important part of the work's creative journey.
Rather than depicting particular places, the music reflects the experience of travelling between them. Musical ideas emerge tentatively, gather confidence, encounter moments of conflict and reflection, and ultimately return transformed, suggesting that a journey through landscape can also become a journey of memory, renewal and shared human experience.
Electra writes:
A Way Through was composed for the joint 40th anniversary celebrations of Haddington Concert Society and Classic Music Live! Falkirk. Its inspiration comes from the John Muir Way, a long- distance walking route that links Falkirk and Haddington across Scotland's central belt. Named after the pioneering naturalist, conservationist and writer John Muir (1 838-1 91 4), who was born in Dunbar, East Lothian, the route celebrates Scotland's landscapes and the connections between its communities.
During the composition of the work I visited both Falkirk and Haddington, where I was welcomed with extraordinary generosity. I am deeply grateful to Fiona Finch, Richard Dyer, Gordon Bellingham, John McMillan and the many others who shared their knowledge, enthusiasm and hospitality, introducing me to the rich history, landscapes and musical life of the two towns. From the monumental Kelpies and the Antonine Wall in Falkirk to the grandeur of St Mary's Church in Haddington, the stories of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Rough Wooing, and the surrounding East Lothian landscape of Traprain Law and the distant Bass Rock, these experiences became an important part of the work's creative journey.
Rather than depicting particular places, the music reflects the experience of travelling between them. Musical ideas emerge tentatively, gather confidence, encounter moments of conflict and reflection, and ultimately return transformed, suggesting that a journey through landscape can also become a journey of memory, renewal and shared human experience.
Electra meets our Bösendorfer
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Electra at the Saltire Memorial in Athelstaneford
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