The arresting introduction is followed by eerie ‘night music’ movements and a haunting waltz. Scored for a huge orchestra including mandolin, guitar and cowbells, the symphony is full of contrasts, combining romantic serenades, nocturnal marches and ironic humour. The life-affirming finale is crowned with boisterous timpani and blazing brass.

Alma’s Songs Without Words by Roxanna Panufnik reimagines three songs by Alma Mahler, with different sections of the orchestra taking on the role of the human voice. Alma wrote the songs before her marriage to Gustav Mahler, after which she ceased composing at his insistence, stifling her creative ambitions.

Panufnik describes the songs as: “extraordinary in their intensity, passion and almost feverish swings in mood and tempo. … Reading about her personal life, one could compare these sudden (sometimes mid-phrase) changes in dynamics and mood to her frequent changes of romantic allegiance between the many men who were understandably captivated by her beauty and brilliance.”