A sublimely lyrical masterpiece, Beethoven’s only violin concerto premiered in 1806 before fading into relative obscurity. It took a performance nearly forty years later in 1844, by none other than the then twelve-year-old Joseph Joachim to popularise the work, propelling it into the standard repertoire as we know it today.

Australian Chamber Orchestra violinist, Aiko Goto is soloist in this symphonically scaled and expressive work.

Wavering between wild energy, humour and haunting desolation, Shostakovich’s first symphony was both ultimate graduation piece and proclamation of his arrival as a composer. Completed in 1925 at the age of just eighteen, the musical language is already strikingly distinct and instantly recognisable as the composers own.

Perhaps influenced by his work as a cinema pianist, the montage style of writing surprises with constant juxtaposition, twists and turns.