This afternoon’s live BBC Radio 3 broadcast introduces Elisabeth Brauss, a BBC New Generation Artist, in Beethoven’s ground-breaking Third Piano Concerto.

The composer was also the soloist at the first performance of what many consider to be his darkest concerto in 1803, pushing the instrument to new expressive lengths. This marked a dramatic and physical new direction for Beethoven.

As one of the BBC Philharmonic’s final concerts before Christmas, the countdown begins here, today, with Arnold’s Commonwealth Christmas Overture.

Typically upbeat and full of the composer’s rhythmic joviality, this piece was commissioned by the BBC in 1957 to mark the 25th anniversary of King George V’s first Christmas broadcast. Whilst it does pay homage to British Royalty – we are also transported to more exotic climates as guitars and percussion conjure up a Caribbean flavour.