Sibelius went through three soloists, some nasty reviews, and a major revision of the work before he got his Violin Concerto the way he wanted it, but in that form it has become the most often recorded 20th-century concerto, a beloved favorite of audiences and violinists alike. Between the bristling and brilliant outer movements comes a wondrous slow movement: “mercilessly beautiful,” in Finnish poet Lassi Nummi’s ecstatic vision of the Concerto.

Come for:

One of the world’s greatest violinists, the brilliant Gil Shaham in Sibelius’ brooding and virtuosic classic.

And more:

MTT conducts Tchaikovsky’s fateful Fourth.