Strauss's passionate account of the loves and losses of the amorous Don Juan set the musical world on fire in 1888. The Swiss conductor Mario Venzago makes his Hallé debut with this richly descriptive piece and another seductive charmer, the Faust of Liszt's intoxicating Mephisto Waltz. Venzago is joined by the young Ukrainian Valeriy Sokolov whose astonishing artistry is ideally suited to the demands of Sibelius’s virtuosic Violin Concerto. Schumann's Fourth Symphony, a 'symphonic fantasy', is impressive in its power and in the finale's 'darkness to dawn' introduction.

'In Schumann's Fourth Symphony, Venzago proved himself a master of sharp, detailed depiction and articulation' Zürichsee-Zeitung

'Schumann...the crowning glory of the evening' Der Landbote on Venzago