Conductor Clemens Schuldt ends this afternoon’s live BBC Radio 3 broadcast with Tchaikovsky’s final completed symphony, Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathétique’ - which he described as ‘the best thing I ever composed or shall compose.’ It is a thrilling exploration of the limits of human existence and emotions.

We also hear Spring and Summer from Glazunov’s The Seasons. This glittering one-act ballet – a forgotten treasure that shimmers with colour – was composed for the Russian Imperial Ballet and was premiered in 1900 in St. Petersburg.