Tarmo Peltokoski
Jan Lisiecki Richard Wagner
Sergej Prokofjev

Richard Wagner (1813–1883) had his breakthrough with the opera The Flying Dutchman in 1843. In the following decades, he revolutionized the opera genre and became one of the 19th century's most influential artists in any art form. Wagner's overtures stand well on their own as orchestral pieces. The program includes two of the most famous: The Overture to Tannhäuser introduced one of Wagner's first great successes, which was premiered in Dresden in 1845. It and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg from 1868 portray medieval singers and poets.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) was only 22 when he wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1913. He wrote it in memory of a friend at the St. Petersburg Conservatory who had committed suicide the same year. Sergei Prokofiev left Russia at the start of the revolution in 1917, and the manuscript for Piano Concerto No. 2 was subsequently lost in a fire. In 1923, Prokofiev recreated the concerto from memory with a number of changes. The new version was premiered in Paris in 1924 with the composer at the piano.

Richard Strauss (1864–1949) heard Wagner's operas for the first time as a ten-year-old, and they became one of his most important sources of inspiration. Strauss became a sort of heir to Wagner, but unlike his role model, he experienced his first successes with orchestral music in the concert hall. While the operas Salome and Elektra shocked audiences with harsh tones and gory action, The Rose Cavalier was an immediate hit with the public at its premiere in 1911, with the plot taking place in Vienna. The orchestral suite is from 1944.