The Tonkunstler and their Music Director, Yutaka Sado, return with an exceptional programme after the summer season. Australian-Taiwanese violinist Ray Chen will play the solo part in Sergei Prokofiev’s second violin concerto, a virtuoso piece of the first order. The concert’s «new simplicity» and approachability, as postulated by Prokofiev, impressed even the Communist leaders of the Soviet Union in the 1930ies. The classic theme of a journey «through darkness into the light» is apparent in Robert Schumann’s second symphony. The composer discovered in this work «the resistance of the mind» against physical ailments. Embedded in the emotional universe of high romanticism, it culminates in a reconciliatory, deeply life-affirming Finale. Thomas Larcher’s orchestral piece «Red and Green», first performed in 2011, will celebrate its Austrian première. Larcher, one of the most renowned and most performed contemporary Austrian composers, brings a visually impressive set of percussion instruments into play for the piece.