In this romantic opening concert of a new season of The Sunday Morning Concert, Leonard Elsenbroich plays the most popular Cello Concerto by Saint-Saëns, the composer of cello hitThe Swan. Led by Polish conductor Michał Nesterowicz, the Residentie Orkest plays Mendelssohn's "Scottish"Third Symphony, composed after a trip through England and Scotland.

This season's opening concert begins romantically, with Saint-Saëns' warm, glowingFirst Cello Concerto. It is music brimming with passion and fire, at times virtuosic and exuberant, at other times subdued and full of depth. Cellist Leonard Elsenbroich will have to pull out all the stops in this virtuoso showpiece. That is wasted on him: Elschenbroich received the Leonard Bernstein Award at the opening concert of the 2009 Schleswig-Holstein Festival after his performance of Brahms'Double Concertowith Anne-Sophie Mutter. Since then, he has been regarded as one of the most important and charismatic cellists of his generation.

The Residentie Orkest next unpacks with Mendelssohn'sThird Symphony. Mendelssohn wrote this symphony, nicknamed "Scottish," after a trip through England and Scotland. It is a highly evocative series of tableaux vivants on the rugged Scottish Highlands. Mendelssohn manages to bring bygone times to life: you can hear the clash of arms of knights and see the mud from horses' hooves flying through the air!