One of the grandest, most opulent musical statements ever made, the voluptuous but rarely performed Gurrelieder uses a gargantuan orchestra and chorus to tell of the love between King Waldemar and the young Tove, later murdered by Waldemar’s jealous Queen. It blends myth and magic, and influences from Wagner and Mahler in a lush, late-Romantic score of kaleidoscopic colour and immense power.

Donald Runnicles is one of today’s leading conductors, held in especially high regard in late-Romantic masterpieces. His association with the International Festival stretches back to 1965, when he sang in the Edinburgh Festival Chorus’s very first concert as an Edinburgh schoolboy.

For this historic event, Runnicles brings together a stellar cast of international soloists as well as a specially expanded Edinburgh Festival Chorus and BBC SSO for a monumental performance of a true choral blockbuster.

This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Friday 16 September at 7.30pm