Performance on 3

Presented by Martin Handley Andris Nelsons conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Brahms's ever-popular Violin Concerto and Shostakovich's wartime 8th Symphony, recorded last week at Symphony Hall Birmingham. Written in 1943 Shostakovich's 8th Symphony was not the celebratory homage to the Soviet war machine that the authorities had expected from the composer following the huge success of his previous 'Leningrad' symphony, it received a tepid reception and was little performed in the following years. Today the work is considered among the composer's masterpieces. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major Shostakovich - Symphony no.8 in C minor Christian Tetzlaff (violin) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons (conductor) Followed by extracts from a specially recorded Wigmore performance of Hugo Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch performed by mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, tenor Ian Bostridge accompanied by pianist Julius Drake. Continues in tomorrow's programme.