Fiesta season comes early with the welcome return of James Ehnes, one of the world’s finest violinists in is Saint-Saëns' impassioned Third Violin Concerto. On the podium, Juanjo Mena returns in a programme with sun-kissed music by Ravel and Berlioz.

This afternoon the we welcome Martyn Brabbins to Salford for a programme of five 20th-century works by British composers

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony conducted tonight by Anja Bihlmaier is a feast of rhythm and dance, whilst Berg’s Violin Concerto tonight with Josef Špaček is by turn angelic and angst-ridden.

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is one of the most performed living composers in the world. Today we hear a selection of his works conducted by John Storgårds

John Storgårds leads us through the gate into one of Bruckner’s ‘cathedrals of sound’, his Fifth Symphony. Sibelius invites us into his world of Nordic impressionism with En Saga, whilst Lotta Wennäkoski honours this in her own work Verdigris.