Born in 1973, composer and clarinettist Jörg Widmann has attracted a lot of attention in his native Germany, but is little known in the UK. That could change if all his music is received as well as Ad Absurdum, which had its British premiere in the BBC Symphony's programme under Jiri Belohlavek.

The piece is a one-movement trumpet concerto about 20 minutes long. The title refers to Widmann's penchant for pushing material and performers so far towards the extreme that the result teeters on the brink of absurdity. There is no slow section in the piece, which begins with the marking "as fast as possible" and never lets up. The fact that the result is more than a brilliant tour-de-force is due to Widmann's ability to keep solid musical ideas coming thick and fast and to score them for the accompanying ensemble with effortless ingenuity.

The orchestra's principal percussionist, David Hockings, had endless instruments to play, making an entertaining sideshow all by himself. So did the barrel-organ player, Claude Paré, whose wheel-turning sent cardboard sheets spewing out over the stage.

For the staggering feats achieved by soloist Sergei Nakariakov the word virtuoso seems inadequate. He played continuously for minutes on end without appearing to take a breath. Belohlavek conducted a thrilling account of the piece, which went down a storm.

The main work, Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, was less successful, mainly because Belohlavek's interpretation lacked the overview needed to give the structure its shape. Nevertheless, there was a lot of beautiful detail - even if the brass sometimes blared and the string tone occasionally became steely.