This week’s ASO season kickoff features yet another departure from orchestral tradition with the world premiere of a concerto for bagpipes by 31-year-old composer Robinson McClellan. It will be part of a program inspired by the British Isles that includes Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides” Overture, folk songs arranged by Benjamin Britten and Hadyn’s Symphony No. 104 “London.” The three-performance run starts tonight in Saratoga Springs and continues Friday in Troy and Saturday in Pittsfield, Mass.
Strictly speaking, McClellan’s new piece is not for the bagpipes that we normally associate with parades, which are properly known as the Highland pipes. Instead, the concerto is written for the uilleann (pronounced “ill-inn”) pipes, which appealed to McClellan because of their quieter sound, broader range (two octaves instead of just one) and a variety of other capabilities, including the ability to turn off the drone and just play a melody.
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