With his optimistic Second Symphony, the 31-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven rebelled against his growing deafness. The combative, uncompromising nature of his later works occasionally shines through, although the symphony remains rooted in the perfectly balanced music of his teacher Joseph Haydn. The other two works on Kirill Petrenko’s programme reference older music: Stravinsky rediscovered baroque and classical elements in Pulcinella, while Tchaikovsky’s elegant Rococo Variations (with Gautier Capuçon as the soloist) serve as a romantic homage to Mozart.