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Interview: The Cross-Eyed Pianist

Frances Wilson 'The Cross-Eyed Pianist'

09 November 2020

“the alchemy between composer and performer is very important to me”

Sally shares some insights into her influences and inspirations, the pleasure of working on commissioned pieces, and how talking to audiences can help explain the creative processes involved in making music.

News: Sally Beamish to Receive OBE

The Strad

12 October 2020

Sally is to receive an OBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to music.

Review: Reed Stanzas - Elias String Quartet - Edinburgh International Festival 'Chamber Music Soundscapes'

The Scotsman

20 August 2020

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"...distant, ethereal atmospherics of Sally Beamish’s Reed Stanzas, its opening offstage incantation by Scots second violinist Donald Grant imbued with eerie folksiness, like a delicate touchpaper catalysing the airy, agile mysticism that ensued, illuminated by the crystalline lucidness of the full ensemble."

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Ken Walton reviews the Elias String Quartet's Edinburgh International Festival 'Chamber Music Soundscapes' filmed concert, featuring 'Reed Stanzas', for The Scotsman 

Review: Hover - Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

The Times

13 November 2019

"Harmonically bountiful, ever subtle"

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Geoff Brown reviews the Academy of St Martin in the Fields' 60th Anniversary Gala concert, featuring the UK premiere of Hover. 

Blog:'The Academy and I': composer and viola-player Sally Beamish on a special relationship

The Arts Desk

12 November 2019

"It’s inspiring for a composer to write for players she knows well" - Sally Beamish

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Sally talks about her ties to Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the impact the orchestra has had on her life and music ahead of its 60th Anniversary Gala in a new blog for The Arts Desk.

Strong connections: Sally Beamish on her 60th anniversary piece for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, & her personal links to the orchestra

Planet Hugill

12 November 2019

"She knew that the piece should really be a celebration, but when writing the music it came out as an elegy."

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Planet Hugill spoke to Sally about the writing of Hover and her history with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields ahead of their 60th Anniversary Gala concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Review: Partita - Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble - South Mountain Concerts, Pittsfield, MA

In the Spotlight

05 October 2019

"Incorporating subtle quotes from Bach, Handel, and Mendelssohn respectively, its three short movements sparkled with grace and stylistic variety in this nimble performance."

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Michael J. Moran reviews the ASMF Chamber Ensemble's performance in Pittsfield, MA, featuring Sally's new string octet 'Partita'. 

Review: A Myndin' - Endellion String Quartet - Wigmore Hall, London

The Strad

16 July 2019

"Sally Beamish’s A Myndin’ is a beautiful, light-textured, gentle work"

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Tim Homfray reviews Endellion String Quartet's 40th Anniversary concert at London's Wigmore Hall, featuring specially commissioned piece A Myndin'.

Review: A Myndin' - Endellion String Quartet - Wigmore Hall, London

The Guardian

29 May 2019

"weaves echoes of Scottish folk music into a beautiful study of memory and nostalgia that aspires to timelessness"

★ ★ ★ ★

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Tim Ashley reviews Endellion String Quartet's 40th Anniversary concert at London's Wigmore Hall, featuring specially commissioned piece A Myndin'.

Review: Under the Wing of the Rock - Branford Marsalis / Australian Chamber Orchestra - City Recital Hall, Sydney

The Sydney Morning Herald

26 May 2019

A fiery journey with Branford Marsalis through Europe and beyond

★ ★ ★ ★

Review: Under the Wing of the Rock - Branford Marsalis / Australian Chamber Orchestra - Perth Concert Hall

The West Australian

17 May 2019

"wistful and distant as if heard over water, strings enhancing the mystery" - David Cusworth

Interview: 'Inspiring a new generation of composers: Sally Beamish'

Bachtrack

25 January 2019

Laura Volpi talks to Sally about her composing and performing career.

Review: Seavaigers - New Century Chamber Orchestra / Marwood / Crabb - San Francisco Conservatory of Music

San Francisco Classical Voice

06 November 2018

"Crabb and Marwood were worthy collaborators indeed"

Jessica Balik reviews the New Century Chamber Orchestra with soloists Anthony Marwood (violin) and James Crabb (accordion) for SFCV, including a performance of Seavaigers.

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Milton Keynes Theatre

Citiblog

19 April 2018

"a spellbinding, immersive ballet which creates an utterly convincing undersea world"

Chris Gregg reviews Northern Ballet's The Little Mermaid at Milton Keynes Theatre for Citiblog.

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Milton Keynes Theatre

The Reviews Hub

19 April 2018

* * * *
"The 27 piece Northern Sinfonia orchestra truly does justice to Sally Beamish’s excellent score"

Maggie Constable reviews Northern Ballet's The Little Mermaid at Milton Keynes Theatre for The Reviews Hub.

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Milton Keynes Theatre

Buckingham Today

17 April 2018

"The music, specially written for the show by Sally Beamish, was a delight"

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Hannah Richardson reviews Northern Ballet's The Little Mermaid at Milton Keynes Theatre for Buckingham Today.

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Bachtrack

24 March 2018

* * * * *

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"A MASTERPIECE"

Kirsty Morgan gives a shining 5-star review of Northern Ballet's The Little Mermaid on Bachtrack.com

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Edinburgh Guide

24 March 2018

* * * *

"The Little Mermaid is a production saturated with talent and grace, from conception to execution."

Katie Stephen gives a 4-star review of Northern Ballet's 'The Little Mermaid' on EdinburghGuide.com

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Herald Scotland

23 March 2018

* * * *

"Nixon’s choreography – like Beamish’s specially commissioned score – shifts persuasively between the fluidity of the undersea realm and the more grounded energies on land."

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Mary Brennan give's Northern Ballet's 'The Little Mermaid' four stars in The Herald.

'The Musical Voice' - Interview: hoctok.com

The Reviews Hub

12 December 2017

Sally talks to hocTok about her life, music, method and inspiration.

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Leeds Grand Theatre

The Reviews Hub

07 December 2017

"Full bodied, cinematic and lush, the music moves along with the ebbs and flows of the sea."

Holly Spanner reviews The Little Mermaid at Leeds Grand Theatre for The Reviews Hub.

Review: The Little Mermaid - Northern Ballet - Leeds Grand Theatre

The Gay UK

07 December 2017

* * * *

"The original score (...) flits between the primarily light and playful to the romantic and finally to the dramatic, feeling cinematic and engaging"

Paul Szabo reviews The Little Mermaid at Leeds Grand Theatre for The Gay UK.

Review: The Judas Passion - Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - St John's Smith Square, London

The Spectator

06 October 2017

Painted more shades of grey than a Farrow & Ball catalogue: The Judas Passion reviewed

Alexandra Coghlan reviews The Judas Passion, performed by Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at St John's Smith Square.

Review: The Judas Passion - Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - St John's Smith Square, London

Bachtrack

27 September 2017

To the field of blood: Sally Beamish's The Judas Passion

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"In the 21st century, the secular resonances of this piece can't help but compel."

Benjamin Poore awards four stars to The Judas Passion, performed by Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at St John's Smith Square.

Interview: Festival Musikdorf Ernen

Musikdorf Ernen

06 August 2017

Sally Beamish: Composer, Violist, and Mistress of Multitasking

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Sarah Batschelet interviews Sally at Switzerland's Musikdorf Ernen Festival.

Review: The Tempest - Houston Ballet

Houston Chronicle

25 May 2017

Houston Ballet's 'Tempest' a sophisticated spectacle

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"Bintley's choreography brings the complex elements of William Shakespeare's late-period romance evocatively into focus, without words, on the wings of Sally Beamish's atmospheric score and Rae Smith's riveting designs."

Molly Glentzer reviews Houston Ballet's US premiere of The Tempest.

Interview: The Tempest - Houston Ballet

Houston Chronicle

18 May 2017

Composer conjours aural magic for Houston Ballet's 'The Tempest'

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"When Bintley discovered Beamish a few years ago, he knew he'd finally found a composer whose help could deliver all he imagined."

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Molly Glentzer interviews Sally and director David Bintley ahead of the US premiere of The Tempest.

Review: Piano Concerto No. 3 City Stanzas - RSNO / Biss / Oundjian - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Herald Scotland

08 April 2017

****

"City Stanzas reminds us, with a quiet confidence, of the excitement (and importance) of music as response to the human condition"

Rosie Davies reviews the RSNO's Glasgow performance of Sally's third piano concerto City Stanzas, with soloist Jonathan Biss and conductor Peter Oundjian.

Review: Piano Concerto No. 3: City Stanzas - St Paul Chamber Orchestra / Biss / Santora - Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul, Minnesota

Minneapolis Star Tribune

20 January 2017

Politics shades Beamish concerto premiered by SPCO

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"a punchy, pugnacious addition to the concerto repertoire and should travel successfully well beyond the Twin Cities"

Terry Blain reviews the world premiere of Sally's Piano Concerto No. 3 City Stanzas, performed by Jonathan Biss and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra under conductor Mischa Santora at Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul, Minnesota.

Review: Piano Concerto No. 3: City Stanzas - St Paul Chamber Orchestra / Biss / Santora - Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul, Minnesota

Twin Cities

20 January 2017

SPCO finds bliss with Biss, Beamish and Beethoven

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Rob Hubbard reviews the world premiere of Sally's Piano Concerto No. 3 City Stanzas, performed by Jonathan Biss and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra under conductor Mischa Santora at Ordway Concert Hall, St Paul, Minnesota.

Review: Piano Concerto no. 2: Cauldron of the Speckled Seas - BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Dausgaard / Roscoe

Herald Scotland

10 December 2016

"one of the finest, and undiluted, celebrations of contemporary music it has been my delight to revel in over the last 30 years"

Michael Tumelty gives a glowing 5-star review to the BBC SSO's Scottish Inspirations concert at Glasgow City Halls with conductor Thomas Dausgaard, featuring Sally's Piano Concerto No 2: Cauldron of the Speckled Seas with pianist Martin Roscoe.

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Interview: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ‘The Tempest’: Some ‘Heavenly Music’, Brought to Life by Dance

Huffington Post

14 September 2016

Meghan Feeks interviews Birmingham Royal Bellet artistic director David Bintley for The Huffington Post.

Interview: Why The Tempest is set to cause a storm in Sunderland

Sunderland Echo

14 September 2016

“I rarely make a full-length ballet without a new score. Quite often I have an idea and it connects with a composer.”

Katy Wheeler speaks to Birmingham Royal Ballet director David Bintley about new ballet The Tempest, with score by Sally Beamish.

Review: Merula Perpetua - BBC Proms

Classical Source

28 August 2016

Proms Chamber Music 7: Armida Quartett, Lise Berthaud, David Saudubray

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It is strongly programmatic music with a personal connection to the late Peter Maxwell Davies"

Antony Hodgson reviews the final Proms Chamber Music concert of 2016, including the world premiere of Sally's Merula Perpetua.

Review: A Cage of Doves - BBC SO / Vedernikov - St Magnus Festival 2016

The Scotsman

26 June 2016

Pickacoy Centre, Kirkwall - St Magnus International Festival 2016

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* * * *

Carol Main gives 4 stars to the BBC SO's performance at St Magnus International Festival under conductor Alexander Vedernikov - including Sally Beamish's 'A Cage of Doves'.

When Shelley Met Sally

BBC Music Magazine

02 June 2016

Tenor James Gilchrist talks bringing English Romantic poets to Wigmore Hall

Gilchrist discusses his collaboration with Sally on new work West Wind - premiering at London's Wigmore Hall on 23rd June 2016.

Review: A Shakespeare Masque - Ex Cathedra & The City Musick

The Shakespeare Blog

22 April 2016

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford Upon Avon

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"A fabulous evening, well deserving of the standing ovation given it by the audience of the packed Holy Trinity Church" - Sylvia Morris

Q&A with Sally Beamish

Shakespeare Lives

31 March 2016

A Q&A with Sally Beamish ahead of the premiere of A Shakepeare Masque as part of the #Shakepeare400 celebrations.

Review: 'La Mer' - Hebrides Ensemble

Herald Scotland

07 March 2016

Perth Concert Hall 07/03/16

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* * * * *

"Sally Beamish has produced a colossal, creative masterpiece"

Michael Tumelty gives the Hebrides Ensemble's live-streamed performance at Perth Concert Hall 5 stars!

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Feature: 'La Mer' - Hebrides Ensemble

The Scotsman

27 February 2016

"a magical rethink that unashamedly shrinks Debussy’s grand evocations down to a more intimate scale, but loses nothing of La Mer’s power and detail"

David Kettle gives a preview into the upcoming Hebrides Ensemble 'Impressions of th Sea' tour, and looks at Sally's piano trio arrangement of Debussy's La Mer

Review: 'Chaconne' - David Titterington

Classical Source

09 February 2016

Royal Festival Hall, London

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"Atmospheric and scored with great originality, Chaconne and Titterington’s playing of it were hugely impressive"

Peter Reed reviews organist David Titterington's concert at the Royal Festival Hall, featuring the world premiere of Chaconne by Sally Beamish

Monthly Choice: 'The Singing' (CD)

BBC Music Magazine

01 December 2015

*****

"Sally Beamish has the Gaelic art of keening down to a fine art"

Paul Riley gives the new CD, featuring RSNO, NYOS and soloists Branford Marsalis, Håkan Hardenberger and James Crabb under conductor Martyn Brabbins, five stars in the December issue of BBC Music Magazine.

Review: 'The Singing' (CD)

The Classical Reviewer

31 October 2015

RSNO/NYOS/Brabbins

BIS Records

"The works on this new disc are outstanding as are the performances"

Bruce Reader reviews the new CD of orchestral works, featuring RSNO, NYOS and soloists Branford Marsalis, James Crabb and Håkan Hardenberger under conductor Martyn Brabbins.

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Feature: 'The Singing' (CD)

The Herald

31 October 2015

"she is a figurehead in the nation’s cultural life"

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Michael Tumelty discusses Sally's career and new CD 'The Singing', which celebrates her work, in The Herald. 

Review: 'The Singing' (CD)

Financial Times

15 October 2015

"Each, potently conducted by Martyn Brabbins, lingers in the air after it is heard"

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Richard Fairman reviews the new CD of orchestral works, featuring RSNO, NYOS and soloists Branford Marsalis, James Crabb and Håkan Hardenberger under conductor Martyn Brabbins. 
 

Review: 'The Singing' (CD)

The Guardian

26 September 2015

****

"Atmospheric, keenly felt and expertly played by all"

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Fiona Maddocks reviews the new orchestral CD, featuring RSNO and NYOS, with soloists Branford Marsalis, James Crabb and Håkan Hardenberger under conductor Martyn Brabbins. 

Feature: 'The Slave's Lament'

Classical Music Magazine

30 April 2015

Classical Music Magazine's Katy Wright looks at Sally's collaboration with artist Graham Fagen for this year's Venice Biennale.