Classical Greats: Encore

The celebratory outer movements of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C embrace a glowing Andante forever associated with the romantic tragedy of the Swedish film Elvira Madigan.

Schubert’s Eighth Symphony is the best known of all his orchestral music, despite its famously – and mysteriously – unfinished state, in which darkly ominous yearning bursts into radiant optimism.

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis perhaps defined Vaughan Williams’ musical personality. Applying to a Tudor theme an admixture of English folksong and translucent orchestral textures learnt in Paris, Vaughan Williams achieved alchemy; a century on, the Fantasia is an established classic, from luminous opening chords to ecstatic counterpoint.

The concert opens in high spirits, recalling the buffeting waves Mendelssohn experienced on a memorable trip to the Outer Hebrides.