Former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Lisa Batiashvili has a special relationship with Shostakovich's profoundly moving concerto, as she demonstrated in a recent recording with tonight's conductor.
She sees the work as peculiarly emblematic of the Soviet era, whose later days she experienced at first hand - a metaphorical escape and symbol of freedom for those struggling to function within the system.
Stravinsky's tragic puppet love triangle dazzles in its 1947 revision, while Tchaikovsky's Russian-sounding music animates Dante's timeless tale of forbidden love and eternal punishment.
