The Hallé

Two of today’s outstanding female artists join forces for this Romantic programme. New Yorker Karina Canellakis was championed by Sir Simon Rattle and last year won the prestigious 2016 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, whilst Munich-born violinist Viviane Hagner enjoys a reputation for assured and insightful performances. Brahms’s symphonically-scaled and ardently lyrical concerto gives ample opportunity for these qualities to shine. Mendelssohn took inspiration for his 1828 overture from two poems by Goethe. Its slow introduction depicts the doleful spirits of sailors, before a brisk wind fills the sails. Beethoven employs a similar strategy for the opening of his neglected Fourth Symphony, slowly winding up the tension before a pulsating first movement sets the tone for one of his most affirmative compositions.