About BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1935 in Edinburgh UK, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is one of the UK’s most famous orchestras and one of Britain’s most versatile ensembles. The BBC SSO has a huge repertoire ranging from the most complex modern scores to the great classics. Its concert performances and recordings are broadcast exclusively on BBC Radio and Television, and its innovative programs and acclaimed recordings have made it the recipient of numerous awards, including two Gramophone Awards and a Grammy nomination.
The BBC SSO is especially active in commissioning and promoting new music, having worked with many leading composers over the years from Britten and Shostakovich to Kurtág and Tan Dun, and it is especially proud of its support for Scottish composers.
The BBC SSO appears annually in Britains most prestigious events including the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival, and is in demand at leading festivals including Cheltenham, Huddersfield and the St. Magnus festival in Orkney.
The British Royal Philharmonic Society presented the BBC SSO with its award for Best Orchestra in 2002.

About Christoph Koenig

Christoph Koenig was born in Dresden, where he sang as a boy soprano in the celebrated Dresdner Kreuzchor. He studied conducting,　as well as piano and singing, at the Dresdner Musikhochschule. His early work as a conductor took him to masterclasses given by, amongst others, Sergiu Celibidache, and Sir Colin Davis, by whom he was invited to work as assistant conductor for both concerts and opera productions with the Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden.

He began his professional career as Erster Kapellmeister in Wuppertal/Gelsenkirchen. In 2001 he was appointed Erster Kapellmeister at Bonn Opera/Orchester der Beethovenhalle.

Christoph Konig was Principal Conductor of the Malmo Symphony Orchestra from 2003 until 2006 and this position has proved to be a very happy collaboration, with Konig’s imaginative programming and his very personal and often surprising way of combining conventional repertoire with contemporary works producing exciting concerts and recordings. During this time Konig was also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria. With both orchestras he has conducted a wide range of repertoire from Haydn and Mozart to Ligeti, Henze and Turnage. He also conducted opera in concert with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra, including Madama Butterfly and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In February 2005 he appeared at the Canary Islands Festival with Cristina Gallardo-Domas and the Prague Philharmonic Choir conducting Suor Angelica and Verdi’s Quattro Pezzi Sacri.

Christoph Konig has just been appointed Principal Conductor of the Orquestra Nacional do Porto for three years with effect from September 2008. He has been a regular guest conductor with the Orchestra and conducted Bartok’s Bluebeard and the première of a new opera by Nuno Corte Real．

About Nicola Benedetti

Named BBC’s Young Musician of the Year in 2004, violinist Nicola Benedetti has captivated audiences and critics with her performances and poise, leading the Independent to say of her, “Benedetti has the gift of communication in spades: an ability to make the music seem larger than lif