Dawn on the Moscow River is the prelude to the unfinished opera Khovanshchina, when Modest Mussorgsky died of illness in St. Petersburg. It is a brilliant and poetic work that can be appreciated without the context of the opera plot, with dawn symbolizing the beginning of a new life. Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2 was written before the composer returned to the Soviet Union. The work contains four iconic traits: classicism, modernism, vigorous rhythm and lyricism. Sprightly melodies and rhythmic passages intermingle with warm harmonic colors that seem always fleeting. Brahms’s final symphony is a world on its own: the first movement is introspective, pensive and lyrical while the finale bursts with passion and powerful momentum.