Sound Tracks

Euan Stevenson: Sound Tracks

Commissioned by 'Chamber Music Scotland' and ‘Classic Music Live! Falkirk’, Sound Tracks is a new suite of nine accessible contemporary classical music pieces by Scottish composer and pianist Euan Stevenson. The work celebrates the award-winning Falkirk Core Path Network - 300 miles of interconnecting pathways spanning the urban and rural landscapes of central Scotland, linking iconic modern structures such as the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies with long-standing historical landmarks like Callendar House and The Antonine Wall.

Written for Earthtones Trio, featuring internationally acclaimed RSNO Principal Flautist Katherine Bryan, RSNO Associate Principal Cellist Betsy Taylor with the composer on piano, the music of Sound Tracks is as varied as the landmarks themselves: from a hypnotic portrayal of the gently rotating Falkirk Wheel to a rousing depiction of marauding Caledonians assailing the Antonine Wall, Stevenson draws upon his extensive musical vocabulary in classical, jazz and film music genres.

Born and raised in Falkirk, the composer says “I was thrilled to be asked to compose a body of work relating to the town where I grew up. Returning to old stomping grounds stirs up childhood memories and emotions and inevitably there is a sense of nostalgia and melancholy which finds its way into the music. It has also been extremely nourishing exploring surroundings, both familiar and new, with my own children, whose exuberance for running and cycling along the pathways fuels a playful side to the music.”

To hear more from Euan Stevenson himself, please follow this link.

As a consequence of the recent global pandemic and the resulting social distancing measures, more people than ever have taken to utilising the pathways, fulfilling the intrinsic human need to be outdoors, amongst nature. Stevenson continues, “The John Muir Way, and indeed all the pathways, invites us to consider our position within nature, on a deeper, spiritual level. When I’m writing for Earthtones Trio, the music is fundamentally a visceral response to the beauty of Scotland’s natural environments, and the music of Sound Tracks is no exception”.