KERNIS Musica Celestis 

PETER EÖTVÖS Aurora for double bass solo and string orchestra with accordion (UK Premiere)* 

BEETHOVEN Symphony 6 ‘Pastoral’   

Mark Wigglesworth Conductor

Nikita Naumov Double Bass

From chirruping birds and babbling brooks to a kaleidoscopic cosmic lightshow – the power of nature pulses through this electrifying concert directed by energetic British conductor Mark Wigglesworth. 

Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony is a hymn of wonder and gratitude to the natural world, combining captivating nature portraits with sounds to move and inspire. 

Hungarian-born Péter Eötvös surrounds the audience with music in his ravishing Aurora, dreamt up while contemplating the Northern Lights aboard a plane high above Alaska. The SCO’s own Principal Double Bass Nikita Naumov – a deeply charismatic player – is Aurora’s expressive soloist. Wigglesworth launches the celestial explorations with US composer Aaron Jay Kernis’s otherworldly evocation of the songs of angels. 

*Commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and Tongyeong International Music Festival