Kavakos conducts Dvořák, Schumann & Brahms

This programme puts the relationship between musical mentors centre stage.

Schumann’s Cello Concerto is considered one of the great cello works of the Romantic era. The challenge for the soloist is to make sure this demanding music sounds lyrical and serene. That should be no problem at all for Kian Soltani, known for the joy he brings to every performance and his ability to create an immediate rapport with his audience.

Brahms’s magnificent First Symphony was many years in the making. And it may never have seen the light of day without the support and friendship of Robert Schumann and his wife Clara – an article by Robert Schumann launched Brahms’s composing career when the three first met, and they soon became devoted friends. The symphony is a 45-minute journey through all the poetry and power an orchestra can conjure.

As the starter for this Romantic feast, Leonidas Kavakos has chosen a rarity by Dvořák, whose early career was given a boost by Brahms’s advocacy. The overture to his almost-forgotten opera Vanda is a suitably dramatic scene-setter for the story of a heroic Polish queen.