Strauss, Berg & Brahms

Alban Berg was haunted by the death of a young girl: his Violin Concerto ‘to the memory of an angel’ distils pain into piercing beauty. Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen rose from the ashes of wartime Germany, asking difficult questions even as it lays bare its heart. Brahms, meanwhile, wrote his Second Symphony on the sunlit slopes of the Austrian Alps – but happy memories have their own truth, and Edward Gardner and violinist Isabelle Faust will bring the same insight and commitment to every note, whether tragic, troubled or glowing with joy.