Two English folk songs form George Butterworth's idyllic The Banks of Green Willow, premiered just two years before the promising young composer's demise in the trenches of World War I. German Max Bruch, captivated by Scottish traditions, wove these melodies into his violin showpiece, Scottish Fantasy. Meanwhile, Brahms' expressive Symphony No. 1, finely dubbed "Beethoven's Tenth," gestated for 22 years due to his remarkable perfectionism.

Bacewicz’s six-minute Overture for Orchestra, composed during the German occupation of Poland, offers a perpetually shifting palette of colors. Spaniard Joaquin Rodrigo’s animated Concierto de Aranjuez features elaborate orchestration for classical guitar, while Fauré’s tragic Pelléas et Mélisande Suite was originally composed as incidental music for a dramatic play. Borodin’s colorful Symphony No. 2 evokes the exuberance of Russian folk dances.