Pinchas Zukerman conducts Elgar | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Five timpani strokes launch Beethoven’s lyrical Violin Concerto; its boldness and unprecedented scale was to set the pattern for the great concertos of the nineteenth century. Few would have anticipated the huge success of Elgar’s orchestral tour-de-force that is his 'Enigma' Variations, and which overnight elevated a moderately successful provincial composer to a national celebratory. His earlier Serenade for Strings is a work of immense charm.

Pre-concert talk Jonathan James discusses the programme, 6:30pm