Filarmonica della Scala

Hectic bustle, poetic solace in life and nature, dancing diversions, but always the threat of intense self-doubt: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's tumultuous Fifth is the middle work in his three great symphonies of fate. A melancholy, sombre motive haunts all four movements, which in music might well translate as a mid-life crisis. Not until the finale does Tchaikovsky succeed in turning the mood into a positive one - but then, with a triumphant gesture, he achieves an almost cathartic musical experience. Added to this is Edvard Grieg's no less popular Piano Concerto, with its moving poetry and echoes of a unique landscape and its folk music, coupled with pianistic virtuosity and exquisite symphonic writing.