Scottish baritone, Arthur Bruce stars in Arthur Bliss’s A Knot of Riddles

Enigma (Solve riddles in music)

Capella Edina

Conductor Luis Schmidt

Soloist Arthur Bruce

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

3pm, 12 October 2025

Edinburgh’s first resident philharmonic orchestra for almost 90 years brings its first annual season to a conclusion with one of the most perplexing pieces of music created, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

The afternoon concert in the city’s spectacular Usher Hall precedes the Elgar with shorter riddles including Arthur Bliss’s playful work, A Knot of Riddles with Scottish baritone Arthur Bruce joining the orchestra, and Alexandre Desplat’s evocative Suite from The Imitation Game, the haunting musical tribute to the genius of Alan Turing heard in the 2014 feature film.

Bringing more beautiful film music to the concert hall, from the same year, The Theory of Everything brought us the story of another famous scientist, Stephen Hawking with a Golden Globe winning film score by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, heard here in a Suite.

Capella Edina’s composer in residence, James Clay has his third work for the orchestra premiered, Afterland, a work for string orchestra, organ and timpani. It is dedicated to Alan Turing and uses God Save the King, the first music recording ever produced by a computer used by Alan Turing.

Riddles have fascinated humankind for centuries – and none more enduringly than Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. “The Enigma I will not explain,” he once wrote about this work which portrays friendship, love, and deep personal reflection.

From thunderous brass to intimate strings, crowned by the voice of the Usher Hall’s majestic organ Elgar’s Enigma promises an incredible finish to Capella Edina’s first season.

Tickets from £10 concession https://capella-edina.com/enigma-2025/