It’s over 30 years since the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo last visited Birmingham, so this concert is certain to be a major event. With Principal Conductor Sebastian Weigle, their concert of blockbusters begins with deliciously seductive music from the 1948 ballet by pre-eminent Japanese composer Akira Ifukube (best known for his film scores for the Godzilla series).

“An exhilarating new look at familiar music” is how The Guardian described free-thinking violinist Christian Tetzlaff’s latest recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. It sees him “flying side-saddle through the Concerto” adds Gramophone, and to a boundary-pushing composer like Beethoven, Tetzlaff would surely be a kindred spirit.

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony has earned its place in the hearts of classical music audiences everywhere. He composed it in secret before hiding the draft away, but it was an instant success at its first performance. Sweeping and indulgent melodies follow one after another in a stream of inspiration, before the exuberant finale brings this glittering symphony to a bombastic climax.