From the opening notes of Schumann’s ardent Cello Concerto, the listener is transported into a world of sumptuous melodies and intimate confidences. Strauss was only 24 when he wrote Don Juan, bringing to life an impetuous anti-hero “in love with love.”
Two pinnacles of the Russian repertoire: Van Cliburn competition winner Olga Kern scales the heights of the “Rach 3,” made famous
by the movie Shine. Tchaikovsky’s passionate, foreboding Fourth Symphony evokes the awesome power of Fate in shaping human lives.