Montero plays Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto

In the distance, a horn sings a sad, sweet song – and Tchaikovsky begins his journey to the heights of passion and sorrow. Julia Adolphe gazes up at giant Redwood trees, and sees the shimmer of a better world. And Rachmaninov places a dark, quiet chord into silence, at the beginning of the piano concerto that made him a star.

Every story has to start somewhere, and the emotions in Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto remain as vital as ever. Julia Adolphe’s forest meditation is new to the UK, but for guest conductor Kristiina Poska, it has all the makings of a favourite. She’s joined by the remarkable Gabriela Montero – a pianist who believes that “music is a purposeful art”, and proves it every time she plays.