Rachmaninov’s music is rarely more heartfelt or so fervently ionate as it is in the Second Symphony. Its romantic headiness is complemented by a thundering, dynamic energy, and we’re thrilled to have Hannu Lintu at the helm for this popular show-stopper.
Before then, Lintu’s fellow Finn, the superb Elina Vähälä, s us for Shostakovich’s Second Violin Concerto. It’s the perfect contrast to Rachmaninov’s wild abandon: a hushed, introverted concerto where the violin sings in long shimmering threads of sound, like a beacon of light leading us through the dark. A mesmerising work, premiered in 1967, it holds all the sorrows, questions, and insights of a lifetime.
This concerts ends at approximately 9:30pm.