“ Take the opener, Six Speechless Songs by the SCO’s Glasgow-born associate composer Martin Suckling, specially commissioned for the occasion. Asked by conductor Robin Ticciati for something celebratory, Suckling instead produced six exquisite miniatures, each a self-contained wolrd of developing ideas that made wonderfully inventive use of the SCO’s laser-precision playing. From its vivid, rhythmic opening, all unison melodies and Messiaen-like birdsong, to the icy mystery of the third movement, Suckling created a work of rich, almost decadent lyricism that proved an ideal showcase for the orchestra’s finely-wrought playing under Ticciati. it might not have raised the roof, but it drew you deep inside its glistening textures, and that felt magical.”