A pre-eminent virtuoso, he plays the predictable Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius.

They don't even play Tchaikovsky, let alone everything, in 19th-century Russian style.

The cellist Steven Isserlis, who last week played Tchaikovsky with the Philharmonic, inaugurated the series on Sunday afternoon.

I wanted to ask you; why did you choose to play Tchaikovsky?

A radiant account of the so-called Little Russian symphony proved that chamber orchestras can play Tchaikovsky, albeit quietly.

This season features only one major soloist, the cellist Lynn Harrell, who opens the season playing Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.

The orchestra started playing the Mendelssohn Violin concerto during the rehearsal, although Chung had been told that she would be playing Tchaikovsky for the concert.

At 10 p.m., fireworks will rain over the Charles River while the orchestra plays Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture.

"I played Grieg and Tchaikovsky on the glockenspiel at concerts," he said with a smile.

The fair man said thank you and he and the guitarist began to play Tchaikovsky.