Any notion that northern Europe's contemporary composers can be grouped into a stylistic school was swiftly dispelled during this musical voyage into the Baltic region by John Storgards and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. If these pieces by Abrahamsen, Aho, Lindberg and Vasks have anything in common it is their difference and the variety of their inspiration.

The tour began with Fartein Valen, the Norwegian contemporary of Sibelius, whose post-tonal Ode to Solitude is built on lush sonorities strongly reminiscent of Berg. From there, it was a sudden leap forward to the striking modernity of Hans Abrahamsen's Stratifications in which minimalist repetitive cells and complex layered structures combine and build to a stratospheric climax for upper strings, woodwind and piano - a startling effect of almost painful intensity.

Receiving its belated UK premiere after 30 years, Kalevi Aho's multi-sectioned, single movement Chamber Symphony No1 makes references to neoclassicism in its gestures and to the language of Shostakovich in its dramatic framework. It would take more than a single hearing to fully appreciate the way in which its trajectory unfolds, as it would the rushing torrents of Magnus Lindberg's Courrente, which at times felt a little tame in the hands of Storgards and a small group of SCO players.

In the concert's second half, Storgards swapped his baton for a violin to take the solo part in Peteris Vasks' concerto Distant Light. A big, muscular player, Storgards delved into the long tranquil lines of the concerto rather than skating over them and brought raw, incendiary power to the increasingly virtuosic series of cadenzas. Many dismiss Vasks as a Latvian John Tavener, peddling a populist blend of mysticism and easy listening, but played with this level of power and conviction, Distant Light is a piece that leaves a lasting impression.