Yuri Temirkanov is one of the few conductors to have had an asteroid named after him: his has the number 6432 and orbits in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. His name was assigned to the heavenly body at a time – 3 October 1975 to be precise – when he was busy as assistant conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra during its ascent to the international front rank under Yevgeny Mravinsky. As of today, he has headed the orchestra for “only” about half as long as his illustrious predecessor – a year short of a quarter of a century – having taken over leadership in 1988. With a history that includes numerous premières of Shostakovich symphonies, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic is today recognised as one of the leading orchestras in Russian music. “Music is a serious matter. Those who first attend a concert will probably not like what they hear. In order to discover its value, they have to go several times. Once they’ve listened to the works many times, a new world will open before them,” says the 73-year-old conductor, who is also honorary conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and one of the few who performs without a baton, arguing that this is a more natural method. As Temirkanov stresses, the end result is what matters and whether this is achieved with or without a baton is of no consequence. Eliso Virsaladze, soloist for the evening’s performance of Schumann’s extraordinarily beautiful piano concerto, needs no better recommendation than Sviatoslav Richter’s description of her as the greatest living interpreter of the composer’s music. The two characters of Schumann’s imagination – the passionate Florestan and the dreamy Eusebius – are united in her play. The pianist has maintained a close connection to the great German Romantic composer's work ever since winning the piano competition that bears his name at the age of 24.