The music matured within me. It filled my soul.

- Sergei Prokofiev

Although it was composed in the final year of WWII, Prokofiev described his expressive Fifth Symphony as a 'hymn to a free and happy man, his mighty powers, pure and noble spirit', a sentiment that resonated with audiences on its 1945 premiere and still endures to this day.

Described as brooding yet freeing, the Fifth raised the already prolific composer's celebrity both in his home country and across the world, landing him a place on the cover of Time Magazine in 1945.

Alongside this seminal work, the concert features the talents of cellist Johannes Moser, who joins the Symphony for this and Richard Strauss's Don Juan and a SFS Co-commission from Andrew Norman.