Performer: NDR Sinfonieorchester

Thomas Hengelbrock and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra open Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie concert-hall with a traversal of music through the ages, from a Renaissance motet to Wolfgang Rihm's latest work.

A strident Mozart concerto from Christopher Park, followed by an expansive but richly varied Bruckner Sixth from Eschenbach.

“Royal Albert Hall / Barbican / Usher Hall (delete as necessary) sold out for Sunday morning concert.” How likely is this headline in response to a normal, mid-season concert in Britain? For Hamburg, it is perfectly normal, and the crowds that thronged the Laeiszhalle, young and old, chic and casual, were not to be disappointed.