“Composing is a never-ending voyage of discovery” says Matthew Kaner, “The key is to keep challenging yourself”, and his new Violin Concerto - specially written for the magnificent sound and adventurous spirit of our soloist Benjamin Baker - is keenly awaited. As a composer himself, BBC SSO Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth is ideally placed to help bring new music to life, and he’s framed the violin concerto with two masterpieces in which the Romantic spirit runs deep and true. Brahms composed his Second Symphony while on holiday in the Austrian Alps, and that sense of sunshine and soaring vistas glows in every note. And Schumann thought his Overture, Scherzo and Finale was simply too joyful to be called a symphony. In short, it’s wonderful.