Icons Rediscovered: Elgar’s Symphony no.1

For Rachmaninov, an unforgettable tune was a point of arrival. For Elgar, it was the start of a journey. ‘Great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future’ was how Elgar described the message of his First Symphony, and when it was premiered in Manchester in 1908, the audience simply rose to its feet and cheered.

But that’s a common response to both these composers, and in this first concert of his Icons Rediscovered series, Vasily Petrenko explores the dark passions that drive two very different, but equally beloved masterpieces – with the magnificent Nikolai Lugansky taking the spotlight in Rachmaninov’s ever-popular Second Piano Concerto. First, though, Lera Auerbach celebrates another legend – Icarus – in music that flashes across the sky.