The Berliner Philharmoniker's 2015 Europakonzert — Athens

The evening starts with the delightful Overture from Rossini’s Semiramide. Then it's Kavakos's turn to take the stage for Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D minor, the only concerto by the Finnish maestro and a brilliant display of his compositional range, with ethereal solo violin calls meeting epic orchestral responses, a balance characteristic of the Sibelius style which finds an ideal exponent in Kavakos. (Don't miss the violinist's gorgeous encore, the Largo from Bach’s enchanting Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major!) Sir Simon and the Berlin Phil conclude with the majestic Symphony No. 3 by Schumann, also known as the Rhenish as it was composed in Düsseldorf, a city crossed by the river Rhine.