London Symphony Orchestra with Antonio Pappano

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading orchestras, the LSO, with its charismatic Chief Conductor, tackles Shostakovich’s emotionally shattering Eighth Symphony. “If only you knew how much blood that C-major cost me,” the composer said, referencing the symphony’s finale. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto opens the program with Maxim Vengerov’s “emphatic phrasing underlines the music’s heroic and lyrical qualities, alternating bold strokes with tender touches as Beethoven requires” (ClassicsToday.com).