For unavoidable personal reasons, Lars Vogt, originally advertised as soloist in this concert, is unable to perform. We are very grateful to the virtuoso Russian-German pianist Igor Levit for stepping in at such short notice to replace him, joining the orchestra of his hometown to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. The rest of the programme remains unchanged.

Superlatives have flowed thick and fast from critics: he’s the ‘most fascinating young pianist around’, already the ‘pianist of the century’, with ‘tonal allure, intellectual drive and technical brilliance’. He won the 2014 newcomer categories in both the BBC Music Magazine and Royal Philharmonic Society awards. He was the winner of Gramophone’s Recording of the Year 2016 award, Igor Levit has established himself as “one of the essential artists of his generation” (The New York Times). The press attests to his performing with a ‘wealth of meaning without artifice’ (Washington Post) leaving the listener ‘speechless with amazement and admiration’ (The Telegraph), as he did at the first night of the 2017 BBC Proms where he stunned audiences into pin-drop silence.

The orchestra of the broadcasting station in Hanover was founded in 1950, however, the roots of the ensemble reach back to the 1920s when Hanover’s first radio station was started up. Andrew Manze has been the Principal Conductor of the orchestra since the 2014-15 season.

After waiting many years to complete his First Symphony, Brahms produced a second one during his summer holiday. It has a largely bucolic, even rustic character, and includes a folksy, dancing third movement. The composer wrote of the surroundings in which the Second Symphony was created (the Austrian lakeside village of Pörtschach) that ‘…the melodies flow so freely that one must be careful not to trample on them’.