Classical review: The Snow Queen , Edinburgh

When feeding classical music to children, it’s usually wise to serve it in bite-sized chunks. For years, Children’s Classic Concerts has been crafting tailor-made concerts for 4-14-year-olds, ensuring an accessible balance of familiarity and discovery.

Picture: Ian Rutherford

Children’s Classic Concerts: The Snow Queen - Usher Hall, Edinburgh

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The latest concert was no exception, blending well-loved works with lesser-known numbers, all played in glorious symphonic style by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Most pieces are done and dusted in less than five minutes, giving precious little time for boredom amongst the young audience. But this weekend, CCC pushed the boat out with a new commission that ran to 15 whole minutes. At the end, hosts Owen and Olly congratulated the rapt crowd on its attention span – but in truth it could easily have been twice as long.

Edited down from the Hans Christian Andersen original by playwright Stuart Paterson, The Snow Queen was read with theatricality and passion by Siobhan Redmond, dressed in her sparkling white finery. But it is at the door of Scottish composer Savourna Stevenson that most plaudits must be laid.

Her expansive score captured the essence of Andersen’s tale – the fear, tenderness, loyalty. Each step of the narrative journey was accompanied by just the right musical intent. Gentle strings for falling snow, angry horns when the ice pierces the young boy’s heart, merry flutes and harp for the reindeer trots, and a filmic ending when the children return home. This work cries out for lengthening.