The soloist opens the program with Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2, his most beloved work of the genre that received a standing ovation from Liszt after its premiere in 1868. Then Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, dedicated to his “best friend” and penpal Nadeja von Meck. “At the moment, I am absorbed by the symphony that I began writing in winter, and I dedicate it to you because you will find echoes of your ideas and your most profound feelings” he wrote in 1877. Performed as an encore, Scarlatti’s Sonata in C Minor is an ideal bridge between these two monumental musical masterpieces.