Ad Absurdum by MacMillan, Widmann, Adams, pi 31 jan 2025, Od (2025/2025), Dirigent Maxim Emelyanychev, The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Music to raise a laugh, or certainly crack a smile, in the playful hands of charismatic SCO Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev. Multi-award-winning trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov is one of today’s most brilliant musicians, but even he is put through his paces by the madcap virtuosity of Jörg Widmann’s thrilling whirlwind of a trumpet concerto, Ad Absurdum. The same composer plays affectionate games with Beethoven in his zany Con Brio, while American minimalist John Adams reimagines classic cartoon scores in his flamboyantly virtuosic Chamber Concerto. The trad-inspired romantic liaison of Sir James MacMillan’s opening Tryst, premiered by the SCO in 1989, provides a heartfelt, intimate contrast. Maxim Emelyanychev Conductor Sergei Nakariakov Trumpet Jamie Pettinger DJ