Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra plays Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony

Counting Mendelssohn and Schumann among its former principal conductors (and Adam Fischer as its current incumbent), the distinguished Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra is Germany’s second oldest municipal orchestra. Since 2021, Birmingham’s own Alpesh Chauhan has been Principal Guest Conductor and he introduces them to us on their first UK tour. The super-charged Coriolan Overture by Beethoven, in the 200 th anniversary year of the composer’s death, sets the scene for a concert of dramatic tension and sumptuous melody. The vibrant young virtuoso Hyeyoon Park brings rich sonority and musical integrity to the Violin Concerto by Brahms. Its dedicatee was Brahms’s close friend, the celebrated virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim, so the technical demands go without saying, but there’s also a serene Adagio, fiery gypsy finale and plenty of orchestral colour. Life imitates art in Tchaikovsky’s turbulent and ever-popular Fourth Symphony reflecting a tortured period during which he made a disastrous and short-lived marriage that sparked an emotional crisis. Opening with the striking brass ‘fate’ motif, it’s fuelled by anguish, with heartfelt melodies, a unique pizzicato scherzo and a helter-skelter finale. See the full B:Classical Season here