In an interview with British daily The Guardian, Sol Gabetta once admitted that she was hesitant to tackle the Elgar Cello Concerto: too long a shadow was cast by the great cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who performed the tragic work, written shortly after the First World War, in 1965 at the age of 19, setting a new benchmark and helping the rarely-played piece to achieve new popularity. But it wasn't long before Sol Gabetta abandoned her misgivings: »I found myself fascinated by the delicate changes in dynamics that permeate the entire score.« With Rachmaninov's Second Symphony, written ten years earlier, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra rounds off this evening of Late Romantic music. read less