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The heartbreaking 1980s away goals defeat for Celtic in Europe that inspired a frenzied piano concerto

18 October 2017

A night when the footballing gods conspire against your team can feel like an epic tragedy.

But Sir James MacMillan was musically moved by one particular defeat for his beloved club.

“There’s a piece of mine called which was inspired by a Celtic – Partizan Belgrade European qualifier in 1989 and it’s all about wasted energy.

“It's probably the only piano concerto in the history of music that was inspired by the away goals rule in football.”

The Kilwinning-born composer that “the most unusual pieces I’ve written are the works inspired by Glasgow Celtic Football Club.”

Goals galore in Glasgow

Belgrade’s home leg of the European Cup Winners’ Cup tie with Celtic ended in a 2-1 victory for the home side.

MacMillan grew up in Cumnock, East Ayrshire

The match, on September 12 1989, wasn’t actually played in Belgrade. Rather it took place in Mostar, a city in the south of Yugoslavia, as .

The second leg at Celtic Park two weeks later was a goal-packed affair.

As the final whistle approached in Glasgow, Celtic were 5-3 ahead.

If the score had stayed this way, Celtic would have won 6-5 on aggregate and progressed through to the second round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

But disaster struck when the visitors scored with just two minutes remaining, making the score 6-6 on aggregate.

As the Yugoslavian team had scored more goals away from home than Celtic, it was the Scottish side who were sent out of the competition.

Four other occasions when sport inspired musicians

Sir James is far from the first to rouse a melody from the sight of athletes in action.

Elton John 鈥� Philadelphia Freedom

Elton John’s song honours Billie Jean King, the former women’s world number one tennis player.

King played an important role in the campaign for gender equality, notably beating tennis champion Bobby Riggs in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match in 1973.

The song makes no mention of King or her many achievements, but it was named after her tennis team the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Belle and Sebastian 鈥� Piazza, New York Catcher

Glasgow’s Belle and Sebastian found inspiration in the New York Mets baseball team or, more specifically, their .

As frontman Stuart Murdoch explained to in 2016, “I was almost instantly drawn to Piazza... He was the kind of player people tended to follow”.

Dmitri Shostakovich 鈥� The Golden Age

Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich supported Zenit Leningrad and even qualified as a football referee.

He wrote the ballet about a Soviet football team whose travels to the West bring them into contact with corrupt society.

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Momentum and Kai

Matthew Barley and the 大象传媒 Philharmonic explore the music of Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Mark-Anthony Turnage 鈥� Momentum

Contemporary British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage wrote Momentum for the opening of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall.

The principal motif is the football chant ‘Ole, ole, ole’.

But the chants of other teams, including his favourites Arsenal, can be heard through the piece.

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