Scotland to Mesopotamia and beyond: Music at Oxford celebrates birthdays for Robert Saxton and Gregory Rose

Ancient Assyrian statue in the Louvre
thought to show Gilgamesh

Music at Oxford launches its Spring/Summer season on Friday 10 March 2023 with a concert from the English Symphony Orchestra with its recently appointed creative partner, violinist Esther Abrami in which they pair Scottish-themed works from Bruch and Mendelssohn with the premiere of Robert Saxton's Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Saxton, who was professor of composition at Oxford until 2021, celebrates his 70th birthday this year.

Another birthday celebration featured in the season is that of Gregory Rose, who celebrates his 75th birthday by conducting the premiere of his Oboe Concerto with soloist George Caird and the Jupiter Orchestra, in a concert that also includes music by Albinoni, Janacek and Tchaikovsky. And further celebrations take place at the final concert of the season, when Paris-based ensemble, Quatuor Modigliani, celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new piece by Jean Frederic Neuburger, plus Beethoven's String Quartet no. 13, Op. 130 with the Grosse Fuge as the finale.

Other visitors to Oxford for the season include Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, and the Marian Consort who perform music by Renaissance nun Raffaella Aleotti, Vincente Lusitano and William Byrd.

Full details from the Music at Oxford website.