nelson challenges the orchestra

Conducted by Andris Nelson, Boston Symphony perform Tchaikovsky's timeless and only Violin Concerto. An enduring lyrical masterpiece, the piece is one of the composers' most beloved across the globe. Violinist Leonidas Kavakos takes the lead on the work, one that was once deemed 'unplayable'. The orchestra will then take on Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5, the 1944 opus which premiered at Moscow Conservatory to a backdrop of World War II gunfire.

Written in 1878 in a Swiss resort following the breakdown of his marriage, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is considered a welcome addition to the composer's oeuvre and despite its technical difficulties, has gone on to become a popular request in the repertoire. Prokofiev's Symphony 5, meanwhile, came together during the final year of the war as a longing for a free and safe future for mankind.