A Soviet Russian concerto between two Viennese symphonies: this is the fascinating ‘sandwich’ on offer at this concert, at which Concerto Budapest are directed by Norwegian conductor Arvid Engegård, who is also active as violinist and pianist. Schubert’s complete even in its unfinished state Symphony in H minor is traditionally (albeit often disputably) designated the eighth, although of far greater importance than the numbering is the work’s mystery, its melancholy and, of course, its extraordinary popularity.

Shostakovich wrote his first, 1959 cello concerto – just as the second – for his good friend Mstislav Rostropovich and for this recital the solo is commanded by double Kossuth Prize winner and Artist of the Nation Miklós Perényi, a truly great Hungarian cellist who can be compared to Rostropovich himself. At several points the four-movement cello concerto brings to the fore the DSCH motif, which the composer used to represent himself.

Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major is one of the final three symphonies penned by the composer: the upbeat tone and the power associated with the E-flat major key refute that particular biographical detail that suggests a desperate Mozart – in dire financial straits – offered this work as collateral on a loan.