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Dvorak wrote five symphonic poems in his final chapter, four of them based on gruesome fairy tales by Karl Erben. The Golden Spinning Wheel is a great example of the composer’s attention to bloodcurdling detail, with almost every bar relating to the original story. Mendelssohn’s Italianate piano concerto will sweeten the tone before the marvellous statement that is Brahms’ first symphony, which signalled the composer’s escape from the shadows of Beethoven.