BBC Philharmonic with Vassily Sinaisky and Sunwook Kim (piano)

Now almost forgotten, Franz Schmidt was once one of the leading lights of turn-of-the-century Viennese musical life. As a cellist in the Vienna Philharmonic, he’d played under Mahler, whose influence can be felt in his own lush post-Romantic compositions. His most enduringly popular work – the passionate and lyrical Intermezzo from his opera Notre Dame – is part of a trio of glowing orchestral interludes which launches this supremely hummable programme from the BBC Philharmonic.

The outstanding South Korean pianist Sunwook Kim, winner of the 2006 Leeds International Piano Competition, is the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. This was the composer’s comeback piece after his ill-fated First Symphony, and its winning blend of surging melodies and powerful drama made it an instant and enduring hit, as well as providing the perfect underscore to the stiff-upper-lipped lovers in David Lean’s movie, Brief Encounter. No less appealing is Dvorák’s Eighth Symphony: written at the height of his popularity in 1889, it’s fit to burst with some of his most uplifting tunes, achingly tender at its heart and full of tearaway high spirits at the end.

Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Dr Katy Hamilton on Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto.