Radio 3 in Concert

RADIO 3, 7.30PM

It’s been hard to avoid Russia-themed programmes on BBC radio over the past month, as a raft of dramas, documentaries and talk pieces have marked the centenary of the 1917 revolution. Much of it has been worthy, stolid and boring – but not this evening’s concert, which is centred on a performance of Tchaikovsky’s rousing and patriotic Fifth Symphony by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Also on the programme are Bruch’s lyrical Violin Concerto No1 and the overture from Rossini’s final Italian opera, Semiramide.