Kozhukhin plays Brahms in Glasgow by Brahms, Beethoven, Fra (2016/2016), Dirigent Thomas Dausgaard, City Halls, Glasgow, United Kingdom

The torrent roars, and the full orchestra hurls down a furious challenge. The opening of Brahms’s youthful First Piano Concerto is a long way from the image of the gruff old genius in baggy trousers and beard. But for pianist Denis Kozhukhin – so electrifying in Russian repertoire – it’s the starting point of an entirely new musical chapter, and an overwhelming way to launch his Brahms concerto cycle. Thomas Dausgaard conducts: The Scotsman found “something elemental” in his performance when he conducted the BBC SSO on Orkney last summer. His freshness and energy will make Beethoven’s headlong Seventh Symphony both a bracing contrast and a perfect counterpart to Brahms’s volcanic concerto.