Donald Runnicles was a surprise choice to succeed Ilan Volkov as chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony. “What on earth is bringing a conductor who works in the world’s leading opera houses, and with orchestras of the calibre of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, to Glasgow? The answer, from a dozen angles, is always the same: it’s the chemistry that ignited when Sir Brian McMaster teamed Runnicles with the BBC SSO at the 2001 Edinburgh International Festival.”