Opening the Nielsen cycle is the assured and lavishly lyrical First Symphony, written in 1892 but already bearing the unmistakable stamp of its creator. Tracing an eventful journey from shadowy G minor through to a radiant C major finale, the work is illuminated by sparely graceful wind- writing and glistening brass. As Nielsen completed his First, Tchaikovsky embarked on what would be his symphonic swansong, the great No. 6 or Pathétique, of which he said, ‘I believe it comes into being as the best of my works’. As an interlude there is Mozart’s youthful violin concerto in D major, performed by young German soloist Augustin Hadelich – ‘a virtuoso out of the Golden Age’, according to The New Yorker.
