NEWS
SNS SEASON OPENS NEXT WEEK
Holly opens her final season with Symphony Nova Scotia on October 18th with a programme by Cassandra Miller, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. SNS's full season, including all of Holly's concerts, can be viewed here.
STEPPING DOWN FROM MUSIC DIRECTORSHIP
After five happy and artistically fruitful years of partnership, Holly has announced she will not be renewing her contract with Symphony Nova Scotia, and is embarking on new adventures in strategy, governance and digital projects. Read the press release here.
CBC: THIS IS MY MUSIC WITH TOM ALLEN
Each week, This Is My Music is hosted by one of Canada's foremost international classical artists. The host selects a program of mainly classical music and presents it in a lively, engaging manner, enriched with personal anecdotes and insights. Listen in live to Holly's edition on 25 June at 10am EDT, or listen back later to the archive (geo-locked).
HOLLY MATHIESON: CALLING HOME
Listen in to Holly's interview with Jim Mora on Radio NZ's ever-popular Calling Home about life in Glasgow and Halifax, taking music out of the concert hall, and preparing for touring life with a new baby!
SNS: 2022-23 SEASON LAUNCH
Symphony Nova Scotia have announced their first full concert season since the pandemic began, with an exciting programme of events throughout Halifax, wider Nova Scotia and online.
SYMPHONY NOVA SCOTIA FALL SEASON
Symphony Nova Scotia have announced their first major activity post-Covid, with a blended season of live, digital and streamed projects. Read the full press release here.
WHAT WOULD MOZART DO - PODCAST
Holly was delighted to be a guest on Nico De Villiers' podcast series What Would Mozart Do. You can listen to their discussion here.
APO/LOVE AND BETRAYAL REVIEW
Holly joined the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra as they reopened for live orchestra performances after their September lockdown - read the Auckland Herald review here.
CSO REVIEW
Tony Ryan at Radio NZ gave a glowing review for Holly's debut concert with the Christchurch Symphony last week - have a listen on the Radio NZ website.
SILENT SYMPHONY
Holly chatted to Ameeta Vohra at Halifax magazine about Symphony Nova Scotia's planning through Covid-19. Click here for the link.
A PODIUM OF ONE'S OWN
In the build-up to the upcoming opera concert with the Auckland Philharmonia, Holly met APO News Editor, Tabatha McFadyen, to discus touring life pre- and post-lockdown. Read the issue here.
NEVIS LOCHAN SKETCHES
Nevis Ensemble's Lochan Sketches will be broadcast on BBC Scotland's Classics Unwrapped over the coming weeks. The project formed creative teams comprising a composer, a Nevis player and a member of the public, to produce a series of small solo electroacoustic works in response to the community member's memories or, and reflections upon, Scotland's coastal waters.
You can listen to the series, which is part of Nevis' contributions to the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020, via the Nevis Ensemble website.
MICHAEL HOUSTOUN FAREWELL WITH CSO
Holly is delighted to be joining the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in a concert with Aotearoa's legendary pianist Michael Houston as he farewells audiences around the country. He will play Brahms' Piano Concerto no. 1. The concert also celebrates the career of another major figure in Aotearoa's orchestral life, CSO Principal flautist Tony Ferner, who also retires this year. He will play Chris Cree Brown's arrangement of Poulenc’s Cantilena. Full concert details can be found in Holly's online diary or the CSO's website.
OPERA NORTH HEARTLANDS PROJECT
Will Todd's community opera with Opera North has resumed production as a film, with the orchestra and chorus of Opera North supporting community chorus and soloists from County Durham.
Set in a town marked by declining local industry and loss of civic spaces, Song of Our Heartland is both a love letter to the landscape, heritage and people of the area, and an act of storytelling by three generations of indomitable women. It is due for release as a 60-minute film in October.
HOLLY RETURNS TO THE PHILHARMONIA
Holly and the Philharmonia recorded the second of the Philharmonia Sessions this week, with the concert due to stream on Saturday August 22 at 11am. Go to the orchestra website to see details of the sessions and view a trailer for the concert.
CORONA VIRUS CANCELLATIONS
In line with industry-wide cancellations, Holly's performances for the remainder of the 19/20 season are cancelled due to the global pandemic. The 20/21 season remains under review.
In the meantime, Holly is involved in the production of various digital projects with her regular artistic partners. Keep an eye on social media for details each week.
BBC PHIL STUDIO CONCERT BROADCAST
Listen here to Holly's concert with the BBC Philharmonic, which was live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 8th January, 2020. The orchestra plays two works based on the writings of Oscar Wilde: Ibert's La ballade de la geôle de Reading and Schreker's Der Geburtstag der Infantin.
The broadcast will be available online until early February 2020.
SYMPHONY NOVA SCOTIA MUSIC DIRECTOR
Holly is delighted to accept the position of Music Director with Canada's Symphony Nova Scotia. “We are beyond thrilled to be joining forces with such an exciting and inspiring artist,” says Nancy Barteaux, Chair of Symphony Nova Scotia’s Board of Directors. “Holly is a spectacular musician, a passionate communicator, and a collaborative, highly experienced conductor.”
For a full press release, click here.
NZ OPERA DEBUT WITH TURN OF THE SCREW
Holly's season of Britten's Turn of the Screw has opened to critical success and full houses in Wellington with Orchestra Wellington. The company has three remaining performances, at Auckland's ASB Waterfront Theatre, accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia with limited seats available. See the review highlights here.
DEBUT ALBUM WITH ISATA KANNEH-MASON
Holly's first major commercial release debuted this week at #1 in the UK Classical Charts. The Decca Classical disc features Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto with phenomenal young pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, along with numerous of the composer's solo piano works and a collaboration with Elena Urioste on the violin sonata.
The album is available for purchase or download from all music retailers.
4 & 5 STAR REVIEWS FOR SCOTTISH BALLET
Sophie LaPlane's Dextera, a new commission for Scottish ballet, set to music by Mozart, has enjoyed a rapturous world premiere in Inverness's Eden Court Theatre. Read some of the reviews from the first week here.
BBC NEW GENERATION ARTIST RECORDINGS
Holly has had her BBC studio recording debut broadcast in the last couple of weeks: studio recordings of concertos with two of the BBC New Generation Artists. Holly and the orchestra recorded Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Aleksey Semenenko and Mozart Piano Concerto no. 23 with Elisabeth Brauss.