The darkness of a northern night might be long and wild but when the sun finally rises, it really rises. The revels at Peter Maxwell Davies鈥檚 Orkney wedding go on till daybreak 鈥� and you鈥檒l hear every raucous, exuberant sound. But it鈥檚 when dawn arrives that the full splendour of his vision really becomes clear, in a blaze of bagpipes. Sibelius would have understood: after all, Finns know a thing or two about the cycles of nature, and he once compared his Second Symphony to a great river 鈥� gathering strength from many streams before flowing majestically to the sea. In other words, it鈥檚 crowned with one of the most stirring tunes he ever wrote. It鈥檚 a magnificent complement to Tchaikovsky鈥檚 battle-royale of a First Piano Concerto 鈥� a work as popular as it is dramatic, and a thrilling showcase for the prizewinning Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva.

Prelude: 6.45pm in the Recital Room (free to ticket-holders, subject to seating availability): Dr Leah Broad, Lecturer in Music at Christ Church, Oxford, introduces Sibelius鈥檚 Second Symphony.

The concert will be recorded by 大象传媒 Radio 3 for broadcast in 'Radio 3 in Concert' on 28 October 2019 at 7.30pm - the presenter is Andrew McGregor. It will then be available to stream or download for 30 days via '大象传媒 Sounds', where you can also find podcasts and music mixes.