Icelandic music is unusually prominent in May with the SCO’s world premiere of Haflidi Hallgrimsson’s Concerto for double bass and orchestra plus a concert of Icelandic chamber music. The new concerto has been written specially for the SCO’s principal bass player, Nicholas Bayley, and audiences can hear the composer speak about it immediately prior to its performances. Hallgrimsson, who is a long-time Edinburgh resident, is also to the fore in music for piano, violin and cello, alongside the music of Iceland’s first composer, Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, who lived and worked in Edinburgh between 1873 and 1919.

SCO, City Halls, Glasgow, Fri 8; Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 9; Chamber Music from Iceland, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, Sat 2.