Music review: SCO, Pekka Kuusisto & Sam Amidon, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh ****

There was a reason behind this concert’s eclectic, high-concept repertoire, Pekka Kuusisto deadpanned, but he couldn’t remember what it was. In the end, it didn’t matter much. What brought it all together was the Finnish violinist/conductor’s own disarming directness – lapped up by the sizeable crowd in his off-the-cuff introductions – as well as his muscular, vivid playing, as he wove together threads of folk and classical, past inspirations and contemporary reimaginings with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

It was quite a statement to intertwine movements from Janáček’s ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ Quartet (given a rich string-orchestra arrangement by Kuusisto) with Appalachian folk songs from Vermont-born troubadour Sam Amidon. Yes, the collision of styles was jarring, and yes, it loosened thematic cross-references between the Janáček Quartet’s movements. But in many ways it was a revelation, especially as Amidon’s later songs moved into darker themes of murder and remorse, mirroring the Tolstoy tale that had inspired Janáček. The luminous string harmonies that Nico Muhly had conjured as backdrops for Amidon’s songs threw Janáček’s nervy, hyperactive string writing into sharp relief, and Amidon’s own singing was a joy: unforced, unfussy and full of rhythmic freedom – which Kuusisto responded to in his agile direction of the SCO strings.

Kuusisto was on his own after the interval for a deeply considered account of the Bach-inspired Dissolve, O My Heart by Missy Mazzoli, then took to the podium for music by his compatriot Sibelius. The Third Symphony is hardly the composer’s best known, and its relatively modest scale means it sometimes gets rather weedy, tentative performances. Kuusisto’s was anything but, from a strongly defined, robust opening to a bittersweet, tripping slow movement, and an almost spiritual grandeur to his hymn-like close. The SCO responded with spirited, vividly projected playing that filled the Queen’s Hall with colour. Kuusisto had to cancel his SCO collaborations last year for family reasons: it’s a joy to see him return.