Taking Off the Make-Up for a Journey Back in Time Sir Roger Norrington Wants Us to Hear Schumann in a Different Way: And This Weekend We Can.

Summary

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EXPECT the unexpected this week from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. No, there is nothing outre in the programme which consists of Beethoven's Leonore Overture No 2 and the Second Symphony, followed by Schumann's Second Symphony as part of the RSNO's ongoing survey of all four Schumann symphonies to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth next year.

But an intriguing experiment is taking place in the orchestra all the same. The band may look similar in the Beethoven section of the concert, though perhaps with fewer strings. But in the second half, for the Schumann, try to see the wind section. Normally it has eight players: two each of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoon. Count them this weekend, however, and you will see double. There will be 16 players, with four musicians on each type of instrument.

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Taking Off the Make-Up for a Journey Back in Time Sir Roger Norrington Wants Us to Hear Schumann in a Different Way: And This Weekend We Can.

They will not all play all the time. At certain key moments, as in the slow movement and in the trios of the scherzo movement, half of them will drop out.

And you might also notice a different configuration in the double basses, usually clustered together. Depending on how things work out this week, you might see them strung ou...

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