London Philharmonic Orchestra: Ode to Beethoven

Everything Gil Shaham plays turns to gold; few living violinists surpass what the New York Times calls his ‘command, clarity and melting sound’. The chance to hear him with Vladimir Jurowski in what’s arguably the greatest of all Romantic violin concertos is self-recommending – and it makes a fascinating counterpoint to the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s ongoing journey through the imagination of Igor Stravinsky.

Orson Welles, Jane Eyre and the death of a friend combined to inspire the piece of sonic sculpture that is Stravinsky’s Ode. But Stravinsky himself is a potent and enduring inspiration; witness new music from composers as distinctive as Yuri Falik and the Swedish maverick Anders Hillborg.