With his First Concerto, the young Brahms set his own course in the wake of Beethoven and Schumann and at the same time poured forth his personal emotions in this work of impressive dimensions. The Russian soloist has chosen an instrument contemporary with the premiere, a magnificent Blüthner piano from 1859, a perfect match for the Sinfonieorchester Basel under its British conductor. In addition to Brahms’s Tragic Overture, the programme also includes the much rarer Overture to Éliza, an opera by a composer whom Brahms greatly admired: Cherubini.