Tchaikovsky remarked of his Fourth Symphony at the time: "It seems to me that this is my best work ever." The Fourth Symphony was premiered in Moscow in February 1878. "My symphony is of course programmatic, but the programme is laid out in such a way that it is impossible to express it in words ... But is that not what a symphony, the most lyrical of all musical forms, should be?"

On 27 October 1901, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto no.2 was premiered with the composer at the piano. The work has been a favourite with audiences since that first performance, and in contrast with his other piano concertos, Rachmaninov judged it to be so good that he made no alterations to it.

Dan Ettinger is one of the leading international conductors of his generation. Since the start of the 2015/2016 season he has been Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic and General Music Director of the City of Stuttgart. From 2010 to 2015 Ettinger was Principal Conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He was Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Israel Symphony Orchestra from 2005.

The Stuttgart Philharmonic was founded in September 1924 and gives guest concerts throughout Germany and abroad each year.

Alexander Korsantia was born in Tiflis and is one of the leading pianists of our time. A "major artist" (Miami Herald), he has been praised for a "piano technique where difficulties simply do not exist" (Calgary Sun).