Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1 in Aberdeen

The evening

The gale roars, and the orchestra hurls down its challenge. The opening of Brahms’s youthful First Piano Concerto is a long way from the image of the gruff old composer, with his baggy trousers and beard, and this huge, emotionally-charged concerto has been described as a symphony in all but name. It demands a pianist of formidable talents, and we’ve got one today. “Even in a day when keyboard virtuosos are thick on the ground, Kozhukhin is special” wrote one critic of Denis Kozhukhin, and he’s no stranger to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. His performance should be a thrilling counterpart to the playful energy of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony and the intimate, compelling soundworld of Laila Arafah, one of today’s most original voices.