The Second Piano Concerto and the fateful Fourth Symphony.

Tchaikovsky speaks to the heart with candid feeling, he caresses the ear with glorious melody, he lifts the soul with buoyant rhythms. And yet he lived a tragic life. Perhaps, says Ashkenazy, it was his suffering that gave the world such great music.

This concert is a Tchaikovsky immersion, beginning with his Second Piano Concerto in its original uncut version. This concerto is known for an exquisitely intimate moment - just the piano, a violin and a cello - that nestles like a pearl in its flamboyant surrounds.

The concerto shares the program with Tchaikovsky's greatest symphony, the Fourth, with Fate at its dramatic heart.

Pre-concert talk by Yvonne Frindle in the Northern Foyer, 45 minutes before the performance.